Wasted IHT payments approach £2bn - study

According to a study conducted by Unbiased, a total of £1.9bn was spent "unnecessarily" on IHT last year, a jump of £370m on 2007. It says a lack of IHT provision "represents the biggest tax wastage in the UK" and predicts further gloom as more properties exceed the £312,000 IHT nil rate threshold. "People are throwing away a whopping amount of money on unnecessary inheritance tax payments," Unbiased chief executive David Elms says. "IHT liability is paid by beneficiaries, often at a time when they are grieving over the loss of a loved one. Without advanced tax planning, increasing am...