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Sin_Chase said:
The words of a bitter man with no inheritance perhaps? Sounds like it.

For some people wealth is proportional to hard work, people who started their own businesses and worked to the bone to make it work and generate income from a successful business model. That is not luck or anything like it, it's hard work.

£550,000 is not an ENORMOUS sum of money by today's standards. It's a fair old amount, but that's what, 20 years of an average wage. What has other people's kids got to do with anything? You somehow think it's unfair that some people will inherit more than others? That is the way the world works.

Again, I have to re-iterate because I cannot believe you even said it. What has other people's kids got to do with anything? Myself and my sibling stand to inherit a fair damn amount, I don't care to inherit it, really want to think about the circumstances under which that is going to happen but I tell you something for nothing - as little as damn possible will be taxed.
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Wanting to live in a fair society is a reasonable desire, and recognising that the people who profit from our current society aren't always the most deserving is totally reasonable.

Most people who are successful owe it to fortuitous circumstances or a lucky draw in the gene pool; hard work is a distant third place. There are more people who slog their guts out for a pittance than who work hard and actually become wealthy.

Just a reminder: the median household income before tax in the UK is £20,801. If you can afford to leave your kids £700,000 (or about 43 years of the entire income of someone on the median wage), you're rich compared to the rest of the population, much as you'd like to consider yourself in middle England. Hell, if you earn £45,000 then you're in the richest 10% of the entire country; if that's not rich, then what is?

People who have been lucky enough to be successful in life have a duty to help those who haven't: it's not a very difficult or disagreeable thing, and I would hope that it's human nature to want to help those less fortunate than yourselves. Pretty depressing that people are arguing the opposite on Christmas Day, of all days!
 
robmiller said:
People who have been lucky enough to be successful in life have a duty to help those who haven't: it's not a very difficult or disagreeable thing, and I would hope that it's human nature to want to help those less fortunate than yourselves. Pretty depressing that people are arguing the opposite on Christmas Day, of all days!
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No, they most certainly do not have any duty whatsoever to anyone else of any circumstance.
 
robmiller said:
Just a reminder: the median household income before tax in the UK is £20,801
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HOUSEHOLD income? Surely not? I have difficulty beleiving this figure. I'd perhaps agree if it was personal income but household?!

So in essence its politics of envy again - because some people never realise their full potential and end up earning hardly any money, they should be.. given some?
 
lol @ rob.miller

Get over the fact that some people are simply better off than you are.

Inheritence tax is a joke, end of.

It's there to drag as much out of people as it can, there is absolutely no reason to be taxed AGAIN on the assets you currently own which have all had tax paid on them.

The fact that you're arguing it says to me that you're just bitter about something, and if you're not bitter, you feel a deep need to be so self righteous.

You most probably love unfair bank charges don't you?

There's no "fair" and "unfair" when it comes to personal possessions.

What you're saying is akin to stealing things from people, because you feel that you deserve it more and or they don't deserve it themselves in the first place.
 
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GokSly,

Isn't there any sort of clever selling you can do to get around this? Sell the house to the third party for example (a friend you trust) whom you then purchase the house from at a later date, whilst they pay rent on it? Low amount, like £1 a month?
 
robmiller said:
Wanting to live in a fair society is a reasonable desire, and recognising that the people who profit from our current society aren't always the most deserving is totally reasonable.

Most people who are successful owe it to fortuitous circumstances or a lucky draw in the gene pool; hard work is a distant third place. There are more people who slog their guts out for a pittance than who work hard and actually become wealthy.

Just a reminder: the median household income before tax in the UK is £20,801. If you can afford to leave your kids £700,000 (or about 43 years of the entire income of someone on the median wage), you're rich compared to the rest of the population, much as you'd like to consider yourself in middle England. Hell, if you earn £45,000 then you're in the richest 10% of the entire country; if that's not rich, then what is?

People who have been lucky enough to be successful in life have a duty to help those who haven't: it's not a very difficult or disagreeable thing, and I would hope that it's human nature to want to help those less fortunate than yourselves. Pretty depressing that people are arguing the opposite on Christmas Day, of all days!
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I know of two family's myself who will be hit with IHT like fox has said if they don't do anything about it before hand. Both have worked god dam hard for their money and paid their taxes along the way! Like everyone else! Why the hell should they have to pay more in life than me because they saw a way out and worked hard for it!

Merry Christmas to you

Robmiller: The Robin hood of OCUK
 
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Does inheritance tax bring in a lot of money for the government?

If YES
Then scrapping inheritance tax would necessitate a rise in income tax. The brunt of this would presumably be borne by people in the top tax bracket whose estates are likely to pay inheritance tax in the first place. So do you want to pay as you go (income tax)? Or 'buy now pay later' (inheritance tax)? Personally I'd rather pay more tax when I was dead then when I was alive.
 
robmiller said:
Nobody's saying he can't give it to his children, just that he should be taxed on it.
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I've worked hard all of my life to provide for my family. When I die I want my children to continue to be provided for, in particular if I should die whilst they are still minors. Anything my children inherit I've already paid tax on, sometimes several times over as income tax, then again as stamp duty when I bought the house, then VAT on the things and services that contribute to the house value. Frankly I object to then paying tax again just because I've had the temerity to die.

Of course you would like to paint people that inherit money that attracts IHT as some sort of pampered rich kids given an unfair advantage in life. In reality there are plenty of areas in the UK where house pricing means inheritance tax will apply, often forcing children to have to sell the family home in order to pay the tax due.

Rarely is the tax "cash" more often it is in the form of the family home, which either the children continue to live in, or is sold to allow them to buy their own family home(s) (and therefore end up paying tax on the same money YET AGAIN!). It might mean they have a head start to a comfortable, secure home earlier in life that (in my case) I did for example, but I doubt it sees them driving around in Aston Martins swilling champagne and cocaine.

Personally I intend to make sure my children still have an incentive to work and be contributing members of society. Sure, I hope to leave them enough that they won't have to worry about not being able to make ends meet if they chose to do a lower paid career like following their relatives into nursing. I tell you what though, life is unfair and if you think that gives my family a head start or you feel hard done by, tough.

Of course you'd rather I was "taxed to the hilt" so instead of providing for my family as I choose, my hard work, and foresight instead benefits random strangers. Of course if I just P***** it all up the wall and left my family with no choice but to rely on the welfare state when I died I could avoid the tax.

This is a despicable Tax that takes yet another bite at the cherry and frankly you come across as bitter and resentful of people that have worked hard and chosen to be responsible, prudent and save to provide for their families.
 
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Zom said:
Does inheritance tax bring in a lot of money for the government?
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No it doesn't. The number of people affected by it is remarkably low and the amount gained by it is proportionately small (not least because plenty of clever people have found ways aroun it). Scrapping inheritance tax would have a negligible effect on the government coffers.
 
Sorry to say guys I think inheritance tax is a good thing.

A lot of wealth is inherited by a small number. It isn't fair that some people start off in life with more money than others. If you want a more fair version of capitalism it is a good idea. Rather than punishing people for success it evens out the game for the next generation.

In reality however it doesn't stop billionaires passing on their fortune to the next generation who didn't earn it but punishes the people in the middle that worked hard to provide for their family.

I am not bitter about wealthy people in any way btw and understand the world is not a "fair" place, we have it lucky just by living in the UK and I will be gladly receiving a house or 2 but if I was to envisage an ideal world it wouldn't be the way.
 
Inheritance should be taxed as hard as income tax. It is income for the beneficiaries. Children aren't charities.

All money has been taxed several times, so it doesn't mean much. If you employ someone from your own earnings, should that be not subject to income tax because its been taxed already?
 
[TW]Fox;15595007 said:
It's already been taxed when it was earnt.
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My point wasn't the tax rebate charities get but rather taxes on any income.

It is income. If I employ my child, does he not have to pay tax?
 
ghost101 said:
If I employ my child, does he not have to pay tax?
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Yes but you won't be taxed on the money you pay him. If you run a business and employ your child and make £10k before tax and wages, but pay him £5k, you'll only pay tax on the £5k. He'll pay tax on the other £5k.

Whereas you earn £50k, get taxed on it. You have what, £30k. Then he inherits that and is taxed on it AGAIN? It's already been taxed!
 
[TW]Fox;15595021 said:
Yes but you won't be taxed on the money you pay him. If you run a business and employ your child and make £10k before tax and wages, but pay him £5k, you'll only pay tax on the £5k. He'll pay tax on the other £5k.

Whereas you earn £50k, get taxed on it. You have what, £30k. Then he inherits that and is taxed on it AGAIN? It's already been taxed!
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You will be taxed on the money you pay him, even if you've paid in direct employment.

If you employ him as part of a business then it isn't you paying him. If you pay him say as a maid, then its a direct transfer and still subject to income tax rules on top of yours.

You have to compare like for like, since inheritance is a direct transfer.

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Besides, that money coming out of the business has either been subject to initial investment (which has had income tax paid on) or through retained earnings which had corporation tax paid on. This is if you're trying to create a genuine transfer through the company rather than genuine employment (where he gives value to the company equal to salary) then it is still being taxed twice.
 
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ghost101 said:
My point wasn't the tax rebate charities get but rather taxes on any income.

It is income. If I employ my child, does he not have to pay tax?
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Don't be ridiculous, providing for your children is an entirely different thing. Or do you believe that children should be paying tax as "benefit in kind" for food, housing, electricity, gas, clothing, holidays, toys....
 
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