Inherited Wealth & Inheritance Tax

I've probably mentioned before I don't believe in inherited wealth. So many reasons, but mainly - an accident of birth shouldn't be able to determine that you have wealth, position or influence that you haven't earned in any way whatsoever. I also think that wealth you have been given, but not worked for, means less than wealth you have created yourself through your own endeavours. I don't believe that wealth should be concentrated in a very small percentage of the population. We humans need to be altruistic & share what we have. We can and should be prepared to even out wealth distribution fairly. That doesn't mean I believe in giving hand outs to people who aren't prepared to make any effort to support themselves. But we can & should support people who are struggling to have the basics in life. It also doesn't mean that I am not prepared to help my family or friends if they get into financial difficulty.

I actually think that the excesses of many of the extremely wealthy are obscene in light of the fact that people are starving, dying of curable disease, don't have clean water & sanitation, are displaced & don't have homes.....I don't know how they justify it. 

I actually don't mind paying taxes, including inheritance tax. I would be willing to pay more if it would improve life & support people who needed help. I do, however, object to our outdated & complex tax system, which very few people, including tax officers understand.

A report by IFS researchers, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, argued that the parts of the UK tax system that dictate how different forms of income are taxed are not fit for purpose. "There is no pain-free way to fix the current tax system: any meaningful reform will create losers as well as winners. But keeping the status quo is also a choice – one that unfairly penalises ordinary employees and investors, and creates inefficiency and administrative costs that make us all poorer.” "This report highlight(s) the unfairness, inefficiency and complexity inherent in the current approach to taxing different forms of income, specifically the different treatment of employment and labour income compared to business ownership and capital incomes. This penalises employees and distorts investment decisions, to the detriment of social well-being". 

The tax Competitive Index has repeatedly selected Estonia as having the best tax code in the OECD.  "Estonia’s transparent and simple tax system attracts investments with no corporate income tax, no capital tax, no property transfer taxes". The UK is 26th in the 2022 list.

Surely we can do better than this? The UK government uses the tax system  to achieve social and political goals rather than simply using tax systems for what they are good at – raising revenue for government spending.

I've been fortunate to become far more financially secure than my parents were. Partly due to both my husband & I having secure professional jobs with good pensions & partly due to circumstances in the property market. If people with disposable wealth simply hold on to it all & pass it on to their children we perpetuate unfairness & inequality. 

Not all are born equal, but all should have equal opportunities.