I'm curious, why do you want inheritance tax to go up?
I've never had a problem with people keeping their inheritance, unless the inheritance was built up through tax dodges that's different, then yeah make them pay.
Although I agree that £325k is an awful lot of money that is tax free.
My concern would be, someone living in their parents home, but the parents die, if the house is worth over £325k and they are in the South, then unless the parents gift the house (7 years) you are up the creek without a paddle.
My thoughts are a bit all over the place so it might lack coherency.
1. I think wealth distribution isn't quite right in that the rich will just get richers and the poor will stay poor (money makes money), especially for those who have big property portfolios. When your young to middle aged person is struggling to get their foot onto the housing ladder (in the south) and rents are ridiculous because we don't have enough council housing. Not sure in practice inheritance tax will fully re-distribute especially amongst the mega wealthy as they just put it in trusts which don't get taxed. I guess my main issue is with families building empires.
2. If someone had to sell their half a million pound house to pay for inheritance and downsize, it might seem a bit harsh but they are going to be doing better than most.
3. I think looking at the current situation of people in their 20s-30s (I'm off the age where people have done well buying a house well who are young, or people are earning a lot so can afford a house) and i can see that in the south, the people who will be able to enjoy a nice house will be those who have inherited them or been able to sell a house to upsize. If i had to pick a side who can afford a house, i think i would choose the ones who are currently earning more than someone having been born into an inheritance.
Ideally we'd have more housing for all to buy/rent but not enough house building, not enough builders and too many nimbys mean that isn't an asnwer.
At the end of the day though, it's just my opinion, what happens to it doesn't really affect me, i don't expect to receive much from my mum and as much as i love my nieces and nephews (no kids yet), i think because i have "made" it in my life (not very materialistic so i don't spend much) without having had an inheritance, i think anything anyone receives from an inheritance should be a bonus than a perk. I guess it's nice to leave them stuff but when i'm gone, i'm gone and i don't want my family to think that they can rely on inheritance even though it will be nice. They need to go out and make for themselves.
Anyway, if you have a spouse, its 700k you can pass tax free and if you are really ballsy/want to avoid it, cash, additional properties etc you can just gift to whoever you want to pass it to as long as you don't die within 7 years.
think my comment was a bit flippant as i think what we have now isn't too bad. I think people should be able to pass stuff on, i think the thresholds right now could be raised abit higher (maybe a million per couple) but its more the enforcement of it for the mega wealthy i would prefer really.
