Shadow chancellor George Osborne has been compromised into a pre-election confirmation of the Tories' autumn 2007 pledge to effectively raise the threshold for IHT to £2m - by allowing couples to transfer a spouse's £1m allowance on their death to the surviving partner - which could prove to be a disastrous illusion for families thinking they will be protected from this widely loathed tax.
To push IHT planning to one side on the back of what is effectively a tenuous election promise – which is the likely result of this announcement for many taxpayers - is extremely dangerous. While a £2m threshold would liberate many homes from the spectre of the 40% tax, the reality is that Osborne has yet to nail his colours to the mast and unveil a coherent plan as to how he would achieve this solution. It is easy to talk the talk. Implementing a proper fiscal strategy is another matter. There is a double danger at work right now. Many homeowners up and down the UK will be thinking tha...
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