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Number of Estates paying UK Inheritance Tax rises 72%
(29/08/2006)
The number of estates in the UK paying
inheritance tax rose by 72% in the five years up to 2004,
according to a study.
An increase in property prices left about 30,451 estates - most
worth less than £500,000 - liable for the tax. Many of these
estates belonged to British expatriates who did not believe they
were still liable to UK inheritance tax because they had been
non-resident for many years or had married a non-British
national and had set up home outside the UK.
The study, which was carried out the Halifax, expects a further
rise of 22% to 37,000 by 2007.
Consequently, the Halifax are calling for the inheritance tax
threshold to be raised, saying it would be set at £430,000 if it
had increased in line with house price inflation. This is
because the threshold for inheritance tax has risen by 85% since
1996 - but the housing market has grown by 179%.
The threshold is set at £285,000 - but the government intends to
further increase it to £325,000 by 2010.
Halifax group economist Tim Crawford said: "The steep increase
in the number of estates paying inheritance tax highlights that
the current inheritance tax threshold of £285,000 is too low.
"Significantly, families with lower valued estates are paying an
increased share of the total inheritance tax take whilst the
super-rich are paying a smaller share."
Candour
Consultancy has been running a campaign over the past 18 months
to make British expatriates aware of their potential liabilities
in which time we have written numerous articles for our
newsletter, magazines and newspapers. At the same time, we have
introduced the Candour Wealth Management Package which
enables British expatriates to ascertain their inheritance tax
liabilities, plan accordingly to minimise their tax bill. As
part of the wealth management package, Candour Consultancy
employees a solicitor to rewrite the clients Wills to fully
utilise their inheritance tax allowances.
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