Yahoo Finance Majority of Britons are ‘against’ inheritance tax, Martin Lewis poll suggests
A poll by Martin Lewis suggests a large proportion of the public is “against” inheritance tax.
Some 72pc of people said they were “against” the divisive death duty on principle, in a Twitter survey of more than 113,000 people carried out by the Money Saving Expert founder.
Some 44pc of people aged 40 and over said they were “against inheritance tax”, compared with 16pc in favour of it.
Among those under 40, 28pc of those polled said they did not support the levy and 12pc were against it.
It comes as the Telegraph campaigns for an end to the tax, with more than 50 MPs lending their support ahead of a general election likely to be held next year.
Today's Poll: Do you believe in the concept of inheritance tax (IT)?
Forget the specifics/rate, but in general, is it more a valid equaliser worth doing as it raises fund while reducing perpetuated inequalities of inherited wealth, or an unfair tax on money already taxed?— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) June 6, 2023
The consumer champion tweeted: “Do you believe in the concept of inheritance tax?
“Forget the specifics/rate, but in general, is it more a valid equaliser worth doing as it raises fund [sic] while reducing perpetuated inequalities of inherited wealth, or an unfair tax on money already taxed?”
In a follow-up poll, he asked Twitter users how often they believed inheritance tax was paid.
He wrote: “I want to know what percentage of UK deaths in a year you’d think involved someone paying inheritance tax?”
Out of more than 43,500 respondents, the majority (63pc) said they believed at least 10pc of deaths resulted in an inheritance tax bill.
A fifth (18pc) said they believed it affected more than half of all deaths, another fifth (19pc) said the proportion affected was 26pc to 50pc, and 27pc voted for 10pc to 25pc.
Some 37pc accurately guessed that the levy was paid in less than 10pc of deaths.
Mr Lewis replied to his initial poll by quoting the latest official data showing that 4pc of all UK deaths resulted in an inheritance tax charge in the 2019-2020 tax year, up 0.02 percentage points on the previous year.
He pointed out that this was the first rise in this proportion since the 2016-2017 tax year, although thousands more are forecast to be caught as the £325,000 threshold remains frozen. The allowance has not risen since 2009, despite years of inflation and house price growth.
Commenting on the poll, users voiced their concerns about the impact of the duty on their families.
One tweeted: “Those who have worked all their lives, sacrificed to purchase a home, should not have it taken away when they have to be placed in care.
“They’ve contributed more than those who have been on lifetime benefits etc, they get care free!!! That needs sorting.”
Another wrote: “That money has already been taxed.
“I want to work hard & leave my kids something to be proud of.
“The Government has spent more than it earns in 39 out of the last 45 years
“Maybe if they controlled their spending better we wouldn’t need to be taxed so much.”
Others pointed out flaws in the way the tax was collected, saying loopholes allowed the truly rich to avoid paying, while families with money tied up in modest terraced homes in London and the South East would be forced to pay – even if they are low earners.
