![]() SIR – I have no qualifications in the field of literature but my life has been enriched by what are commonly known as the works of William Shakespeare ( Letters, June 1). However, if they are seriously thinking about scrapping the iniquitous inheritance tax, it would make a significant dent in my resolve. ![]() SIR – I am 82 years of age and have voted for the Conservatives all my life, but in view of the total shambles this country is in at the moment, I had determined never to vote for them again. Conservatism is at its best when it first and foremost supports those striving to achieve the good life, rather than those who already have it. They should be the priority for any tax cuts – especially those on the lowest incomes. The weight of taxation in this country is disproportionately on work and working-aged people. The average age of beneficiaries would be 60 or above, and they are overwhelmingly likely to be affluent. SIR – Scrapping, even reducing, inheritance tax is the wrong priority. If the tax was set at, say, 10 per cent, fewer people would go to extreme and expensive lengths to avoid it. SIR – While I consider inheritance tax an abomination that should be stopped immediately, I can’t help thinking that levying it at a more reasonable rate than the current, frankly outrageous, 40 per cent might be a solution that is more palatable to the Government. It would be like 1979, when Margaret Thatcher abolished exchange control. My research shows that, but for inheritance tax, they would return to England and happily pay income tax on their worldwide incomes. ![]() ![]() The really rich business owners are largely resident in Switzerland, Portugal and such places. Footballers and bankers have to live in England and so pay income tax here. SIR – The main reason for abolishing inheritance tax is, counterintuitively, to tax the rich. Markets are meritocracies, not inheritocracies. Far from enabling the creative destruction of one family’s wealth trickling down into the wider market’s pot, it softens the next generation’s inclination to roll up its sleeves, capitalise on the privileges their relatively higher wealth has already afforded them, and make their own way in the worl. SIR – Scrapping inheritance tax is not a liberal act. Having brought her up in very difficult circumstances, I feel I owe it to her. I’ve lived frugally all my life and spent a hard-earned salary on property, so I want my only daughter to benefit – not some profligate government department. SIR – I’m sure there are tens of thousands of oldies like myself who are determined to stay alive until inheritance tax is abolished. Moreover, having seen family and friends go through the agony of probate when suffering from grief, this seems to be an inhuman double tax. SIR – Why should people like my husband and me, who worked hard to make some money, have to give so much of it to the Government instead of our children and grandchildren? It is long past time for Global Britain to demonstrate that it is open, outward-looking and confident on the world stage by following suit. Many developed countries no longer allow such government confiscation. SIR – Let us call inheritance tax what it is: the Government confiscating an individual’s assets, on which taxes have already been paid (“ Scrap unfair inheritance tax, MPs tell Sunak”, report, June 1).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |