Viewpoint

The chancellor recently raised the threshold for inheritance tax by the rate of general price inflat...

The chancellor recently raised the threshold for inheritance tax by the rate of general price inflation. Many people might have been hoping he would have done rather more. An increasing number of people are being pushed over the IHT threshold because of the steep rise in property prices. However, many of these people have not increased their wealth. For many, this means IHT has effectively become a windfall tax on home ownership. The potential liability that some people will face has greatly increased. Take. for example, an estate where the only asset is a house worth &600,000. After ta...