IHT increases will not dampen WOL market

The Chancellor of the Exchequer's decision to raise the threshold at which estates must pay Inheritance Tax (IHT) has been broadly welcomed by the protection community. Among a raft of pre-election vote winning measures in last month's budget, Gordon Brown announced that the IHT threshold will rise from its current level of £263,000 to £300,000 by 2007. The move comes amid mounting pressure from the public to raise the barrier to take account of the sharp rise in house prices over the last decade. The number of estates paying IHT has risen by two-thirds over the past five years. While t...