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APPG recommendations on IHT

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The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Inheritance & Intergenerational Fairness has published a report recommending widespread reforms to IHT.

Commenting on the report, Terry Jordan, senior private client adviser at BKL, noted that the recommendations include abolishing potentially exempt transfers, subject only to an annual exemption of £30,000; abolishing many special reliefs, including business property relief and agricultural property relief; removing the CGT rebasing to market value on death; removing the ‘main residence’ enhancement to the IHT nil rate band; and removing the nil rate band from lifetime transfers.

The report also recommends reducing the rate of IHT to 10%, except that the rate applying on death for estates over £2m would be 20%; inclusion of the value of pension funds in the death estate unless they pass to a surviving spouse or civil partner; the introduction of an annual tax charge on discretionary trusts; and compulsory electronic reporting to HMRC of all lifetime gifts over £3,000.

All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of members of both Houses of Parliament, and their reports have not been approved by either House or its committees.

‘The APPG’s recommendations are certainly not about to pass into law; and it is more than likely that nothing will ever come of them,’ Jordan said. ‘But already Mr Johnson has shown that he is prepared to put the cat among the pigeons if need be, so it is as well to be aware of these recommendations, revolutionary though they are.’

Issue: 1474
Categories: News
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