Inheritance tax could be changed ‘to redistribute wealth’

Posted 05/01/2012

Inheritance tax could be changed in a bid to redistribute wealth in a fairer manner.Plans have been discussed in the House of Lords to charge it to individual recipients rather than on the entire estate, reports This is Money.Opposition Treasury spokesman Lord Eatwell claims his idea will be welcomed as it would lead to a fairer distribution of wealth.Mark Giddens of national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young stated inheritance tax laws in their current form mean all sections of society can be caught out, due to the fact a modest house can be subject to it due to prices increasing.”It is no longer a tax aimed at capturing big windfalls of inherited wealth,” he said.According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, inheritance tax should be increased as an alternative to the 50p income tax rate, as it says high earning individuals are currently planning to leave the UK.