Laura Suter: The taxing task of IHT simplification

Two big unknowns

clock • 3 min read

The OTS had a difficult job on its hands balancing the need to simplify complex IHT rules while keeping them fair for consumers and affordable for the government, writes Laura Suter

The long-awaited report on how to simplify the inheritance tax (IHT) system came out this month, and it is not an overstatement to suggest the financial services sector was actually excited to see how the plans to battle through the complex web of rules had panned out. The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) was tasked with coming up with different ways of fixing the system and making it easier for consumers to understand. Not just consumers would benefit from the changes, however, as the report also revealed there are some areas of the system that are so complex even professionals do not...

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