Britain’s public finances are in a “parlous state”, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. More than a decade of public spending cuts has ripped the welfare safety net and left the NHS and other public services more stretched than ever, while it is costing increasingly more to service the country’s high and rising debt burden. Yet speculation increased last week that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, may be considering the abolition of inheritance tax in his spring budget in March. This would be a pre-election giveaway for some of the country’s wealthiest families that the UK can ill afford.
There is a conundrum at the heart of inheritance tax that makes it an appealing prospect to some Conservatives ahead of an election. It is paid by a relatively small number of people; currently, only the wealthiest 5% at death.
