‘I’m thinking more and more of the inheritance tax that my children will eventually pay’
The UK’s main IHT tax-free allowance has gone unchanged for 14 years, dragging thousands more Britons into the tax’s shadow over the past decade.
The Telegraph has launched a campaign to scrap inheritance tax, taking a stand alongside some 50 MPs.
Letters have flooded in from readers about the tax and the distress it has caused countless families after a loved one has passed away.
Bill Parish, 75, Bromley, Kent: “I’m thinking more and more of the inheritance tax that my children will eventually pay”
Mr Parish is unhappy that the money raised by the Government via inheritance tax is spent on generous pension schemes for public sector workers.
He said: “I inherited my mother’s house, which I rent out. It was either that, or sell it when I inherited it, but what do I do with the money? Do I invest it, or what? I decided to rent it out. But now I’m coming up to the age where you could argue that I’m in God’s waiting room. I’m thinking more and more of the inheritance tax that my children will eventually pay.
“You’ve all already paid tax on these assets. You pay tax on the purchase of the property, you pay tax on maintaining it. But unfortunately, it has to be said that a proportion of this tax has to eventually wind up supporting these ruinously expensive unfunded pensions that the public sector enjoys. I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about it, as you can imagine.
“At last. A campaign to stop inheritance tax. In taking on the Government, The Telegraph has a hell of a fight on its hands. It has to win.”
Robert Jevans, 58, Warrington, Cheshire: “Inheritance tax will take £44,000 off my cousin’s estate, plus interest”
Mr Jevans is currently trying to settle his late cousin’s estate in London’s Leytonstone, which has racked up a £44,000 inheritance tax bill.
His cousin passed away back in December. Six months after the last day of the month in which someone dies, HMRC begins charging interest on an inheritance bill still owed.
For those caught up in messy probate proceedings, paying interest feels inevitable.
Mr Jevans is administering his cousin’s estate with his brother.
He said: “We’re personally liable for the tax. I think this is unfair. We were quoted 16 weeks for the probate process, but it’s taking more like six to eight months.
“They aren’t thinking about the people left behind to deal with these estates. If you make mistakes, you’re subject to penalties. It’s a lot of pressure.”
Pam Ermisz, 69, Netley Abbey, Southampton: “HMRC lost my probate application”
Ms Ermisz’s brother died unmarried and without a will, leaving her – his only sibling – to act as executor.
When she applied for Letters of Administration, Ms Ermisz said her original application was lost by HM Revenue and Customs.
Ms Ermisz recalled: “After eight weeks of waiting, I phoned HMRC to find out when the application would be finalised, only to be told they couldn’t find it.”
Submitting a second application pushed Ms Ermisz back down to the bottom of the queue. This succeeded, only for the “lost”, original application to re-emerge afterwards.
Ms Ermisz said: “I’m appalled at the way I have been treated by HMRC. Now, I’m expected to pay more than £3,000 in interest because the payment was late.”
She said when she did eventually receive the Letters of Administration, it took Ms Ermisz less than 10 working days to access her brother’s money and pay the IHT due.
“To have to pay interest for the delays caused by HMRC is an insult. At the start of this process I did pay as much of the IHT bill as I could from my own personal funds. But I could not pay it all without selling my own home, hence the need for grant on credit.”
Jocelyne Gardner, 78, Berkshire: “I had to borrow from the bank to access my mother’s estate”
In 1977, Ms Gardner and her late husband bought a house with her late mother. When her mother died in 2000, the couple had the house valued for probate.
The probate office required a second valuation by a district valuer. After waiting several months, the district valuer confirmed the original valuation but did not tell Ms Gardner.
In the meantime, her mother’s share portfolio was frozen until probate was granted nearly a year later.
Ms Gardner said: “By the time I received it, the value had fallen by about a third. But of course I paid inheritance tax on the value at death. The bill came to £30,000.
“It was a massive amount to pay at the time and I had to borrow from the bank to pay it before I could access my mother’s estate. It had rattled on for years, racking up interest.”
Now, following the death of her husband in 2015, Ms Gardner is trying to send what money she can to her daughters, both of whom live in Australia.
She said: “Inheritance tax is immoral and iniquitous.”
John Holm, 81, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk: “The fruits of my father’s post-war business are at stake”
Mr Holm’s father served in the navy during the Second World War. After the war ended in 1945, he returned to his day job before starting up a sideline business – egg production.
During the years of rationing and food shortages, Mr Holm’s father’s business flourished. He recalled: “He ended up with two jobs and worked very long hours.”
Mr Holm came into the business and on his father’s death it became his. Now, Mr Holm’s son works with him.
Mr Holm, who has two children, grandchildren, and step-grandchildren, said: “I am 82 and I am faced with providing for my family on my death.
“My parents helped me, I want to do the same. Throughout our two lives, no one in the family has claimed anything from the social services, and taxes have been paid.
“Now the time is coming when this immoral, vicious, unjust tax is going to be faced. I have been a Conservative voter all my life, but this time I will not vote at all.”
How has inheritance tax impacted you? Do you have a story for our campaign? Email money@telegraph.co.uk
