Inheritance Tax Penalty: who pays?

[Kent_Mackem]

They aren’t cheating. They are driving under 70mph. I agree that wealth should be taxed but IHT isn’t fit for purpose. No matter how many times you accuse people of cheating when they aren’t, it is a tax on uninformed and unlucky.

No, I meant the motorists that speed (i.e. over 70mph) and get away with it. Since this is tens of thousands every day of the year they vastly outnumber those that cheat the IHT system laws.
They get away with it because the law is difficult to enforce.

 

[Harry Angstrom]

Morality would refer to ones principles and values. Just because I believe something, doesn't mean those who believe differently are inherently bad.

There's a very high likelihood, yes. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother saying what I intend to do, as it's often easy to say what you'd plan to do with what is never likely to be reality.

I’m not going to tell you what to do with your money but it isn’t something I would do. When we did our wills the solicitor asked what would happen to the money if my child dies first. I could not think of anyone or anything that I would give the money to. The thought of me giving money to the state instead of her because I think it’s a moral thing to do is just plain daft. I’ll probably give her the excess of what I need as a matter of course.

No, I meant the motorists that speed (i.e. over 70mph) and get away with it. Since this is tens of thousands every day of the year they vastly outnumber those that cheat the IHT system laws.
They get away with it because the law is difficult to enforce.

Analogy doesn’t work. No one is cheating IHT by gifting in line with the law.

 

[Longcount]

The thought of me giving money to the state instead of her because I think it’s a moral thing to do is just plain daft.

Of course you think it's daft, because it doesn't align with your values.

I don't mind the thought of my estate being subject to tax that will support services that beneficiaries will still need. So to me, it's not daft.

 

[Harry Angstrom]

Of course you think it's daft, because it doesn't align with your values.

I don't mind the thought of my estate being subject to tax that will support services that beneficiaries will still need. So to me, it's not daft.

Giving money to the government rather than your kids is daft. Imho.

 

[Longcount]

Giving money to the government rather than your kids is daft. Imho.

Fair enough.

Financially I'm objectively far from daft, I just have different values to yourself. Funding services that my kids and wider society when I'm dead honestly doesn't bother me. I appreciate some detest the thought of their hard earned not being passed on in it's entirety.

 

[Harry Angstrom]

Fair enough.

Financially I'm objectively far from daft, I just have different values to yourself. Funding services that my kids and wider society when I'm dead honestly doesn't bother me. I appreciate some detest the thought of their hard earned not being passed on in it's entirety.

It’s a personal decision and I don’t see the logic but I certainly respect what you are doing. If you have come from nothing and you end up paying IHT you will be far from financially stupid

 

[Longcount]

It’s a personal decision and I don’t see the logic but I certainly respect what you are doing. If you have come from nothing and you end up paying IHT you will be far from financially stupid

The logic is easy to see, unless being deliberately contrarian. It's just a matter of individual morals. I try to do plenty of good for society and actively make life decisions around that, in addition to accumulating some personal fortune for mine and my family's benefit. Most will strike a balance between both, but skew more towards one end. Your are further towards the latter than the former. I don't think you're stupid or making a daft decision, you just have different values..

 

[Harry Angstrom]

The logic is easy to see, unless being deliberately contrarian. It's just a matter of individual morals. I try to do plenty of good for society and actively make life decisions around that, in addition to accumulating some personal fortune for mine and my family's benefit. Most will strike a balance between both, but skew more towards one end. Your are further towards the latter than the former. I don't think you're stupid or making a daft decision, you just have different values..

It isn't being contrarian, I can understand people wanting to pay their taxes. I cannot understand why you would volunteer to pay more.

 

[Longcount]

It isn't being contrarian, I can understand people wanting to pay their taxes. I cannot understand why you would volunteer to pay more.

You can, as it's been explained several times. You just don't agree with it. I would say it's only daft if somebody intended to avoid IHT but didn't properly prepare for it. The person who doesn't plan to avoid in the first isn't being daft, they just intend to distribute their assets different when they're dead.

 

[Kent_Mackem]

Giving money to the government rather than your kids is daft. Imho.

But the kids get money. It’s not daft at all. They’re not going to be poor if the tax threshold has been reached. The country would be in a far better state if more people didn’t think like that.

 

[Harry Angstrom]

But the kids get money. It’s not daft at all. They’re not going to be poor if the tax threshold has been reached. The country would be in a far better state if more people didn’t think like that.

Absolute rubbish. Why don’t you just send some money to HMRC and help them out a bit?

 

[Qwerty]

Absolute rubbish. Why don’t you just send some money to HMRC and help them out a bit?

If it was scrapped which taxes would you like raised to replace the £7bn?

 

[peachy]

Giving money to the government rather than your kids is daft. Imho.

I see your point. As a parent you want to support your child. But I also see others points of view. A million to your child plus 60% of anything above that, then some to the tax kitty.....to pay perhaps for school for grandbairns, hospitals for your child, all sorts. Sounds a good deal to me.

That is if we are lucky enough to benefit from the million limit!

 

[Harry Angstrom]

If it was scrapped which taxes would you like raised to replace the £7bn?

I’d be happy with a wealth tax or an IHT that worked.

 

[Qwerty]

Close the loopholes but raise the threshold?

 

[Harry Angstrom]

I see your point. As a parent you want to support your child. But I also see others points of view. A million to your child plus 60% of anything above that, then some to the tax kitty.....to pay perhaps for school for grandbairns, hospitals for your child, all sorts. Sounds a good deal to me.

That is if we are lucky enough to benefit from the million limit!

If everyone paid that I’d be fine with it. It is a discretionary tax. That is why I think it’s mad to choose to pay it

 

[peachy]

If everyone paid that I’d be fine with it. It is a discretionary tax. That is why I think it’s mad to choose to pay it

Do you mean, close the loopholes for people with over a million pounds, so they can't avoid paying it? That sounds fair to me.

 

[42]

I’d be happy with a wealth tax or an IHT that worked.

So you're not actually against the idea of taxing inheritance them? What would you do instead?

 

[Harry Angstrom]

Do you mean, close the loopholes for people with over a million pounds, so they can't avoid paying it? That sounds fair to me.

There aren’t “loopholes” It is easy to not pay it

So you're not actually against the idea of taxing inheritance them? What would you do instead?

If I knew that I’d be on an absolute fortune working for the Treasury.

 

[42]

There aren’t “loopholes” It is easy to not pay it

If I knew that I’d be on an absolute fortune working for the Treasury.

But you must have an opinion as to how to make it fairer. As we all know IHT is somewhat politically divisive, and any radical changes would be difficult to implement in real life, but that doesn't stop you telling us the sort of direction you'd personally like IHT take