Indeed, Ireland came in low - the whole thing is, when all countries are struggling, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that taking 20% from 200,000 millionaires is going to bring you more than 65% from 20 millionaires is going to bring you more revenue. Taxation has reached the point in the UK that it is actually stifling growth now
This is why I am always banging on about simplifying the tax system and removing loopholes. Have a flat rate, but make it unswerveable. If Amazon paid 25% (say) on its UK profits, that would be a heck of a lot more than it pays now. If everyone paid 25% tax on their estate after death, that would rake in much more than taking 40% of the few in the middle who are not wealthy enough to apply all the avoidance tactics. Make it simple, make it a level playing field, make it absolutely mandatory.
I'm sorry but I have never understood how taxing someone's death can be right, however much money they have. I assume they rake in VAT on the funeral as well. You can't help dying, in most cases, why should the government gain.
Italy, in its recent budget has made totally new laws for millionaire/billionaire incomers and returners charging a flat rate, one off tax, that is preferential for the very rich to become citizens. This has upset the EU countries around it as their rich people have started to move there. The flat rate was, I think, 100k Euros (a drop in the ocean for them) and it is being proposed to double that but still only a drop in the ocean compared to the taxes in place or proposed by other EU countries.
If they really simplified the tax system, they could save a fortune - but then they'd lose a fortune when everyone realised just how much of their money is squandered by government. The various tax streams (income tax, NI, IPT, VAT, Fuel Duty, Alcohol levy, VED, Tobacco levy, Air passenger duty, council tax, inheritance tax, stamp duty, corporation tax, business rates and so on) could very simply be lumped into one payment where the government could say that there is no tax free allowance and then they take 55% of all of your income -- that percentage probably isn't too far away from reality when you add up all the other taxes, but the reason they don't do that is because they know that folks would be up in arms if they realised that the government took 55-65% of everything they earned. I also agree with @pete - inheritance tax has to be one of the nastiest taxes going and is driven out of little more than greed and envy. Sure, properties go up in price over the decades, so it could be argued that they've gained money that way - but how much money has been spent on the property in maintenance etc over the lifetime? All paid with by money that has already been taxed! The bit that really, really boils my pee with all of this is that yet again all we are hearing is tax, tax, tax... and nothing about cutting waste and cutting costs, of which there is MASSIVE amounts. Give me the spreadsheet for a month and I guarantee I will find the missing £35bn and probably even more.
But 25% would be more acceptable than 40%. My view is if you have accumulated more than you need in your lifetime, giving a quarter of it is reasonable. But it has to apply to absolutely everyone (up to and including the Royals) fairly and evenly on all assets.
Who determines what you need though? I've not been able to get a mortgage, so I don't own property and won't until I inherit whatever is remaining as and when my mum passes away. Why should I then be faced with having to find 25% of that property value just to keep it as a home to live in? Bear in mind that we're talking about a house that is circa £200k at most, so not exactly a mansion - given her age and mine, that would mean I am likely be booting the backside of retirement when she passes and left looking for £50k to pay to the tax man - - - how the hell is that fair? So I spend my life paying for other people's mortgages, paying for other people to spend their life on the dole and get given council housing and then I get shafted in my retirement? May as well hand the gun now and be done with it.
My husband's first morning ritual is to watch the stock market. Keep in mind it is beyond MID November now, Christmas gift shopping ect. So watching the stock market with him, I note that Bed Bath and Beyond is going down, loosing, strange in my mind as it is one of those easy places to shop for gifts for the women. Interesting.
@Fat Controller just be grateful you hadn't gone to bed after using Deep Heat and not washing that off your hands!
I believe our probate fees (inheritance tax) is around the 2% mark. Yes, taxes have already been paid on everything but if your assets are in real estate, the probate is a heck of a lot less than realtor fees! There is such a shortage of houses up for sale here that you'd think they'd lower their fee just to get the job!
But the UKs richest woman died namely the queen and her family haven't paid a penny in inheritance tax
I'm in a different situation from @Fat Controller but agree with the principle. It depends and what you mean by accumulated. We both worked over 60 hours a week for most of our working lives, didn't drink, drink smoke, rarely bought anything expensive and was able to buy what is now a nice property by buying a near derelict house and garden and working to improve it. It is now worth a fair amount of money because we live in an area which has had property prices soar. The way property prices have risen is totally wrong and we are caught in a trap not of our making. We have spent 53 years improving our place (have enjoyed doing so) and, otherwise, been careful with our money and are now able to enjoy the fruits of our labour by having nice holidays and are able to eat out (still can't bring myself to go to expensive restaurants). We have saved wisely, when we could, and have not been profligate with our spending. We also spend a lot of time raising money for charity. Nevertheless our savings for a rainy day for us and our loved ones will be whacked hard by inheritance tax due to no fault of our own. Property tax on the home you live in, and made your life in, should not be taxed!!!
I accept there are counter arguments, but as IHT stands, it is deeply unjust as only a small percentage of people in the middle pay it. The wealthy keep hold of all they have and this further exacerbates the wealth gap down the generations. I think if it were 25% rather than 40%, but collected from everyone, that would be more reasonable. A lower threshold below which it was not paid could be implemented to account for wealth accumulated in a property, but in general terms I think the concept is a solid one. Some of the money collected could be used to fund social care, which would help everyone by freeing up NHS resources. When my mother died she left a 3 bed terraced house, some premium bonds and a current bank account. We got clobbered for IHT because of property values. We could not have kept the house. Personally, I have no issue with that ... provided it applies to everyone. Why should we have paid but people with way more resources not? 25% would be much more palatable than 40%, and people would feel less driven to pursue loopholes. No one wants to give away nearly half of their money, but a quarter might appeal to their altruism. Anyway, it won't happen cos the rich don't want it to, so a few will carry on handing over 40% (after various allowances) while most people will hand over nothing.
Through working hard at times, few holidays for various reasons, when I moved to Devon I was able to buy a house with a good sized, but challenging plot and a smaller mortgage than I had in Essex. Over the years I was able to pay the mortgage off, and add an extension, double glazing and central heating. Even got the garden sort of sorted. These days without the garden it would sell for over 300K with the garden 200k to 250k ridiculous amounts. Inheritance tax won't bother me will it, that's for the next generation.
