IHT – unmarried and childless? Discriminatory IHT .. needs reform !

PSUK

MeteredOut said:

Being unmarried and/or childless are not protected characteristics, so its not DISCRIMINATORY.

Rightly or wrongly, repeated governments are of the view that if you're cannot, or are not willing to, make a commitment with another person, or have children to benefit the wider economy, then you're not deserving of sharing the IHT benefits such decisions provide.

Have you asked your MP to pick this up on your behalf?

Hi

I asked the previous MP a while ago, who sent me a page and a half of things I already knew … and didn’t answer my questions.

I’ve contacted the “new” MP .. and await his response.  

I also have an outstanding response from the PM / Treasury direct. Not sure if / when that will come !

PSUK

Received the response below from HM Treasury Correspondence & Enquiries Unit after writing to the PM via the No 10 website.
I could probably have written this response myself .. but if people don't ask for change .. nothing ever happens .. so I will continue to ask.

Suggest others could/should ask/well demand for change to ?

I await something from local MP ..

"The estates of all individuals benefit from a £325,000 nil-rate band for inheritance tax.

The residence nil-rate band is a further £175,000 for those passing on a qualifying

residence on death to their direct descendants, such as children or grandchildren. The

residence nil-rate band was introduced under the previous Government in April 2017.

The then Government set out at the time of its introduction that there was no evidence to

suggest that this policy would have significant adverse impacts on those with protected

characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. These characteristics include age, race,

disability, sex, sexual orientation, or being married or in a civil partnership. The

residence nil-rate band applies to the estate of individuals where a residence is left at

death to a direct descendant so, for example, the marital status of an individual does not

determine whether they have children of their own.

The combination of nil-rate bands, exemptions, and reliefs means less than 10 per cent

of estates across the UK are forecast to have a liability in 2029/30. However, inheritance

tax still makes an important contribution to the public finances and it is forecast to raise

more than £14 billion in 2029/30 to help support public services. Any suggestions to

reduce inheritance tax or increase the tax reliefs available would need to take account of

the very difficult fiscal situation inherited by the Government.

I understand that people feel strongly about inheritance tax, including where individuals

do not have direct descendants. Thank you for taking the time to make us aware of your

concerns."

PSUK

In case anyone finds this interesting or useful below are excerpts from a response received this week via my MP from The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

I can’t wait to see what chaos next month’s budget will bring to IHT. 

“…..I am replying as Minister responsible for the UK tax system.”

“….. the residence nil-rate band was introduced by the previous Government in April 2017. My understanding is that other countries recognise the relationships between parents and children with different thresholds in equivalent systems.”

“There is no desire from either myself or my officials for the tax system to be complex unnecessarily.”

“However, Mr X’s suggestion to broaden the scope of the residence nil-rate band would have a cost to the Exchequer and, like any ideas to reduce taxes, need to be considered in the context of the fiscal situation inherited by the Government.”

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events when representations for changes can be considered in the context of the public finances and other priorities”

 “I understand Mr X’s concerns and that inheritance tax is an emotive subject.”

“The Government keeps all taxes under review so please pass on my thanks to Mr X for taking the time to make me aware of his concerns.”

poseidon1

PSUK said:

In case anyone finds this interesting or useful below are excerpts from a response received this week via my MP from The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

I can’t wait to see what chaos next month’s budget will bring to IHT. 

“…..I am replying as Minister responsible for the UK tax system.”

“….. the residence nil-rate band was introduced by the previous Government in April 2017. My understanding is that other countries recognise the relationships between parents and children with different thresholds in equivalent systems.”

“There is no desire from either myself or my officials for the tax system to be complex unnecessarily.”

“However, Mr X’s suggestion to broaden the scope of the residence nil-rate band would have a cost to the Exchequer and, like any ideas to reduce taxes, need to be considered in the context of the fiscal situation inherited by the Government.”

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events when representations for changes can be considered in the context of the public finances and other priorities”

 “I understand Mr X’s concerns and that inheritance tax is an emotive subject.”

“The Government keeps all taxes under review so please pass on my thanks to Mr X for taking the time to make me aware of his concerns.”

In other words it is considered perfectly acceptable both politically and morally to disproportionately discriminate against  childless singletons within the IHT system, if they have the temerity of amassing assets above the £325k threshold. Appears  we should have thought long and hard about our life decisions 

EdSwippet

PSUK said:

In case anyone finds this interesting or useful below are excerpts from a response received this week via my MP from The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

...

“…..I am replying as Minister responsible for the UK tax system.”

“….. the residence nil-rate band was introduced by the previous Government in April 2017. My understanding is that other countries recognise the relationships between parents and children with different thresholds in equivalent systems.”

“There is no desire from either myself or my officials for the tax system to be complex unnecessarily.”

“However, Mr X’s suggestion to broaden the scope of the residence nil-rate band would have a cost to the Exchequer and, like any ideas to reduce taxes, need to be considered in the context of the fiscal situation inherited by the Government.”

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events when representations for changes can be considered in the context of the public finances and other priorities”

 “I understand Mr X’s concerns and that inheritance tax is an emotive subject.”

“The Government keeps all taxes under review so please pass on my thanks to Mr X for taking the time to make me aware of his concerns.”

Or, put more succinctly, "drop dead".

DRS1

EdSwippet said:

PSUK said:

In case anyone finds this interesting or useful below are excerpts from a response received this week via my MP from The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

...

“…..I am replying as Minister responsible for the UK tax system.”

“….. the residence nil-rate band was introduced by the previous Government in April 2017. My understanding is that other countries recognise the relationships between parents and children with different thresholds in equivalent systems.”

“There is no desire from either myself or my officials for the tax system to be complex unnecessarily.”

“However, Mr X’s suggestion to broaden the scope of the residence nil-rate band would have a cost to the Exchequer and, like any ideas to reduce taxes, need to be considered in the context of the fiscal situation inherited by the Government.”

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events when representations for changes can be considered in the context of the public finances and other priorities”

 “I understand Mr X’s concerns and that inheritance tax is an emotive subject.”

“The Government keeps all taxes under review so please pass on my thanks to Mr X for taking the time to make me aware of his concerns.”

Or, put more succinctly, "drop dead".

Or more biblically, "Go forth and procreate"

Andy_L

DRS1 said:

EdSwippet said:

PSUK said:

In case anyone finds this interesting or useful below are excerpts from a response received this week via my MP from The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

...

“…..I am replying as Minister responsible for the UK tax system.”

“….. the residence nil-rate band was introduced by the previous Government in April 2017. My understanding is that other countries recognise the relationships between parents and children with different thresholds in equivalent systems.”

“There is no desire from either myself or my officials for the tax system to be complex unnecessarily.”

“However, Mr X’s suggestion to broaden the scope of the residence nil-rate band would have a cost to the Exchequer and, like any ideas to reduce taxes, need to be considered in the context of the fiscal situation inherited by the Government.”

“The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events when representations for changes can be considered in the context of the public finances and other priorities”

 “I understand Mr X’s concerns and that inheritance tax is an emotive subject.”

“The Government keeps all taxes under review so please pass on my thanks to Mr X for taking the time to make me aware of his concerns.”

Or, put more succinctly, "drop dead".

Or more biblically, "Go forth and procreate"

Well they would then have direct descendants to use nil-rate band

rnj

In similar situation but have higher allowance. I've made a LOT of convenience and quality of life improvements in the last few years to up my spending and am a lot happier for it.

I have to ask though, if you don't want to spend it or give it away, why accumulate it?

colalba

I know this doesn't address the original concerns but you can reduce the IHT rate from 40% to 36% if you leave more than 10% to charity.  At least you get to pick where that money goes rather than just to the general tax pool.

HedgehogRulez

You could of course get married and have children….unless….?