The pre-Budget scuttlebutt suggests inheritance tax is in Rachel Reeves's sights as she battles to plug a fiscal black hole that could be as high as £40bn.
If so, the chancellor is playing with fire. Tax is never popular but this is one of Britain's least loved levies.
YouGov says its polling has consistently found that Britons consider inheritance tax to be "unfair" despite the fact that most of them never pay a penny. A survey it conducted in July of 2023 found a majority (56 per cent) would support scrapping it entirely.
More than four in 10 (42 per cent) people felt it amounted to double taxation and that hard-earned money, which is already heavily taxed, shouldn't get hit again when it is passed on especially not at a rate of 40 per cent.
The counter argument - that it's money the recipients haven't earned or paid tax on - simply doesn't cut through, despite the numbers telling us that this isn't the Halloween tax horror most people think it is.
Far more people worry about inheritance tax than ever pay it. It currently kicks in on any estate worth more than £325,000 and the threshold is frozen up to and including 2027-28. HM Revenue & Customs figures for the 2021-22 tax year show that just 4.39 per cent of UK estates - 27,800 - breached the threshold and resulted in an Inheritance Tax (IHT) charge in that year.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin October 19, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin October 19, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Stokes says sorry to team after meltdown in Multan
England captain cut a frustrated figure during Pakistan loss
Brutal seven-game run will put Slot's Reds to the test
The best beginning to a reign made by any Liverpool manager is only a start. Arne Slot has found ways of deflecting the compliments his immediate impact at Anfield has generated.
Inheritance tax increase could backfire for Reeves
Suitably, as Halloween approaches, the \"death tax\" (or inheritance tax, as it's formally known) is spooking Britain again.
Cuba suffers island-wide blackout as grid collapses
Millions of Cubans were plunged into darkness yesterday as they faced a country-wide blackout after a power plant failed, causing the nation's electrical grid to disconnect.
'Fake electors' will return as Trump officials in key states
More than a dozen people who were part of the \"fake electors\" scheme in 2020 will serve as official electors for Donald Trump in key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan during the election season.
North Korean troops are 'in Russia, preparing to fight'
Reports suggest 12,000 could be sent to join war in Ukraine
Use 'moment of justice' as a path to peace, Israelis told
After Hamas leader's killing, Biden and Starmer urge action from Netanyahu, while Hezbollah vows new phase of conflict
King and Queen arrive for landmark Australian tour
The King and Queen Camilla have begun a landmark tour of Australia that will see them celebrate the country's people, culture and heritage.
'Obsessive' hammer-attack schoolboy jailed for 12 years
A public schoolboy who attacked two students and a teacher with claw hammers while they slept at a boarding school in Devon has been jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years.
Almost all drinking water contains 'forever chemicals'
Long-lasting toxins known as \"forever chemicals\" have been found in samples of drinking water from across the world, a new study has revealed.