Yes, Inheritance Tax is in need of reform, but then so is most of our ridiculously complex tax system. We tend to assume that ‘Death Duties’ are a relatively new, socialist tax intended to stop the landed gentry passing on their stately homes and estates and perpetuating their advantages. It’s actually been around for 300 years or more in various forms, and has been scrapped and redesigned many times to make it supposedly ‘fairer’. Now a number of Tories are calling for it to be scrapped altogether; which may have happened were Liz and Kwasi still in charge, but not under our current non-radical (non-anything?) regime, and certainly not under a Labour government. Making it simpler, getting rid of all the fiddly allowances and big exemptions would probably bring in more money and make a lot more sense. But so would many things that are, alas, unlikely to ever happen. Until I get the top job. Which will also, alas, never happen.
