Could the death tax make a comeback?
Despite the fact that the new coalition government effectively ruled out a death tax on the elderly some months ago it seems that a commission set up by health secretary Andrew Lansley may well again recommend the implementation of a death tax to pay for the cost of elderly care. So would the coalition government dare to bring back the suggestion of a death tax?
There's no doubt that the very idea of bringing back a death tax will actually play into the hands of the Labour Party and cause major disruption within the coalition government. However, at this moment in time there is very little money available to cover the care of the elderly and this will remain so for some time to come. It will be interesting to see how the UK government would put forward a potential death tax without appearing to renege on a number of manifesto promises.
There are many issues which the UK government would like to address and many taxes which the UK authorities would like to reduce but at this moment in time funding is very thin on the ground. There are many short-term issues which need funding from the government but ultimately taxpayers will be forced to cover any short-term shortfall.
Share this..
Related stories
Who can you trust on taxes?
Over the last few days it has become apparent that each and every political party in the UK has plans to increase either income tax, VAT, introduce other taxes or a mixture of them all. This comes despite the fact that the Conservative party has become a focal point for criticism by the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrat party with regards to VAT and a potential rise. The truth is that no one p...
Read MoreChancellor George Osborne to cut 55% pension tax
29/09/2014 The Chancellor will abolish a 55% “death tax” that currently applies to untouched "defined contribution" pension pots left by those aged 75 or over. This means that when someone who has been saving for their pension dies and they would like their family to inherit their pension ,they will only pay the marginal income tax rate, or no tax at all if the deceased was under 75 years...
Read MoreToxic assets set to move to taxpayers balance sheet
It has been revealed by sources close to the Treasury that UK taxpayers will be forced, by the government, to underwrite £200 billion of bad debt in the UK banking system. These so-called toxic assets consist of traditional bad debt as well as bad debts carried over from the initial credit crunch which have yet to be addressed. Initially the US government had hoped to install a plan to acquire al...
Read MoreGovernment loses key member of UKFI
UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body set up to manage UK taxpayer banking stakes, has today lost a key member of the team with John Compton set to return to the City. This is the man who took a massive pay cut back in November 2008, leaving Merrill Lynch to join the UK government's new setup, but he was recently overlooked for the top job within UKFI and this appears to have been one of the m...
Read MoreUK motorists suffer more than the rest of Europe
A report by the AA has confirmed that UK motorists continue to shoulder the highest tax burden with regards to fuel duty and VAT in Europe. Since the end of November 2009 fuel duty and VAT in the UK has increased by 11.76% compared to the 5.07% average in Europe and 2.23% in Austria. This will come as no surprise to UK motorists who have long felt that they were the "cash cows" of the UK governmen...
Read More