Well, the lesson of this week in politics must be to expect the unexpected. Or, alternative interpretation, to expect more of the same. The speculation on the future of Inheritance Tax has switched from abolition to a rise in the amount of wealth you can have before the 40% payment hits. My guess is they will be looking for another Home Counties-pleasing headline rather than a £6bn hit to the coffers, and that any give-away will be taken back somewhere less headline-grabbing. But, let’s face it, many of the IHT allowances have not changed since it was introduced in 1986. The big announcement in that Budget was ‘the abolition of Labour’s much-disliked Capital Transfer Tax’. To be replaced by the now equally derided Inheritance Tax. Plus ça change, and tout that.
“Inheritance tax on course for record year of receipts (again) amid calls to scrap it”
Will he/won’t he abolish Inheritance Tax? The Pre-Budget rumour is still out there, perhaps ‘running it up the flagpole to see if it catches the wind’, or perhaps to distract from other rabbits which may be pulled from Jeremy H’s figurative hat.
