Jeremy Hunt is poised to shelve inheritance tax changes in tomorrow's Autumn Statement, according to reports. Chancellor Hunt may postpone announcing changes to inheritance tax (IHT) as the levy is a growing revenue raiser for the government and HMRC, according to reports.
Bumper tax receipts may cause the Chancellor to ditch the proposals, according to reports. IHT receipts from April to October reached £4.6billion, up £0.5billion compared to last year. Income from the levy increased 17 per cent in 2022 compared to the year before, stats show.
Jack Gill, managing director of Final Duties, said: "There were hopes that we might see a cut to inheritance tax in this week’s autumn statement, although these hopes seem to have now faded, with the Government more likely to focus on other tax incentives to better boost their popularity ahead of the next general election.
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"This is disappointing given that inheritance tax is arguably no longer a tax on the wealthy and more and more of us face falling foul of it as our estates grow in value and become liable. This is largely due to the overstimulation of the property market in recent years which has pushed house prices to record highs. With property forming the majority of the average person's estate, the increase in the value of their property is pushing them into inheritance tax territory."
Julia Peake, tax and estate planning specialist at Canada Life, also warned Britons they may be liable to pay the tax. She said: "We may see changes to IHT pushed down the road to the Spring Budget next year, so if no changes are announced in the autumn statement, don’t be lulled into a false sense of security that inheritance tax won’t apply to you.
"Though generally house prices may have fallen in recent months, this is not the case for the whole country. While your house will take up a large proportion of your available nil rate bands, IHT is calculated on the whole of your net estate, which includes savings, investments and other assets owned by you, which are not exempt or held in a trust, as well as gifts made in the last seven years."