The Government's announcement it is to examine wider solutions to the issue of IHT avoidance through trusts has been described as an ‘ominous statement' by Standard Life head of estate planning Julie Hutchison.
Few details were released with the Pre-Budget Report but commentators believe trouble could be looming for trusts. “It is urgent the government makes clear what it means by ‘wider solutions’ and what it feels is the problem so that any solutions are appropriate,” Hutchison says. “I would encourage early dialogue between professional bodies and the Treasury so that widely drafted rules don’t catch out things that were not the original target.” Darling has already pledged to close down some schemes which have been used to avoid IHT through the use of trusts. “There are a few artif...
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