Yahoo Finance Telegraph readers overwhelmingly back campaign to scrap inheritance tax
Telegraph readers overwhelmingly support calls to abolish inheritance tax, as pressure piles on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to scrap the divisive duty.
In an exclusive poll of more than 1,100 people, 92pc of readers agreed that the 40pc inheritance tax should be scrapped.
Readers said they believed the levy was an “unfair” tax on money that had already been taxed as income and brought in only a relatively small amount of revenue to fund public services.
Others pointed out very wealthy individuals can take advantage of a number of loopholes to avoid it.
Experts across the political spectrum agree the tax is in urgent need of reform. Paul Johnson, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, said on Thursday the tax was “genuinely unfair”, following calls from more than 50 MPs for it to be abolished.
“The very wealthy pay an average rate half, or less, that paid [sic] by the moderately wealthy,” Mr Johnson wrote on Twitter. “If all you leave is the family house it’s hard to avoid. If you have millions it is absurdly easy to avoid.”
Inheritance tax is charged at 40pc on wealth over the £325,000 threshold. Individuals have an extra £175,000 allowance towards their main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren, and spouses can share their allowances.
However, rising house prices over the past decade have dragged a rapidly rising number of ordinary families into paying the tax and forced many more to take action to avoid falling into the trap.
Since this newspaper launched its campaign to abolish inheritance tax, readers have flooded Telegraph mailbags and comment sections to share their opinions on the death duty.
One reader, Janette Graham-Walker, said the tax should be scrapped completely.
“We worked hard and paid tax all our lives. We saved and paid tax on our savings. We want our children to benefit from something when we die, but they can be put through a hell in dealing with the aftermath of our deaths,” she said.
“The Thatcher government wanted people to own their homes, and many do, but then successive governments have reaped the benefit from the homes that the population strived to own. Get rid of it.”
Another reader, Jane Wyatt, said: “Everything I have earned and saved has been taxed already. How I choose to spend my wages after tax has nothing to do with the country, Government or anyone else...I saved to keep myself independent and help give the same benefit to my children. What gives people the right to criticise that?”
Reader Dominic Montgomery added inheritance tax was not a serious revenue raiser for the Government.
“It brings in less than 1pc of tax revenues, which can easily be found elsewhere,” he said. “All it does is drive behaviours to avoid it or minimise it.”
How has inheritance tax impacted you? Do you have a story for our campaign? Email money@telegraph.co.uk
