In a recent Telegraph article*, financial columnist and author Matthew Lynn considers the case for a rethink on inheritance tax, saying receipts are “soaring” as the pandemic drives up death rates and increasing asset prices mean “more and more families are caught in its net”.
He notes that HMRC data shows that revenues collected from IHT rose by 22% between April and September this year, while Office for Budget Responsibility data released alongside the Budget includes a forecast that revenues from death duties will double by 2026 and 50,000 estates will have to pay the tax – twice the number in 2018.
Mr Lynn says there are many options for reform: “We could slash the rate to 10%, raise the threshold to £2m, or best of all abolish it completely.”
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* Source: Telegraph – 30/10/21 Soaring inheritance tax is a scandal that must be fixed