It gets more like America here everyday. Where do I move to next?
For some reason estate or inheritance tax (at least I have't heard it called the "death tax" yeat) has popped up as an issue with politicians on both sides suggests its repeal or modification. Presumably this is due to more estates having tax owing due to the rapid escalation in property values, especially in the southeast. The estate threshold is now £285,000 if the heir is not a spouse or domestic partner and the tax rate is 40%. (I believe the threshold is £1,000,000 for spouses and partners.)
The case invariably used to demonstrate the unfairness of the tax is that the heirs may have to sell the property to pay the tax. Have these people never heard of mortgages?
Here's an example:
For some reason estate or inheritance tax (at least I have't heard it called the "death tax" yeat) has popped up as an issue with politicians on both sides suggests its repeal or modification. Presumably this is due to more estates having tax owing due to the rapid escalation in property values, especially in the southeast. The estate threshold is now £285,000 if the heir is not a spouse or domestic partner and the tax rate is 40%. (I believe the threshold is £1,000,000 for spouses and partners.)
The case invariably used to demonstrate the unfairness of the tax is that the heirs may have to sell the property to pay the tax. Have these people never heard of mortgages?
Here's an example:
A parent dies leaving you a detached house in greater London worth £400,000. The tax due on this is £46,000. To pay that back over a 10 year mortgage at 7.5% would mean monthly payments of around £560. I assume that you're living somewhere. Renting a two bedroom flat in London is going to be at least £750 a month.
Why do they have to sell the house? I don't get it.
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