Letters to the editor
Inheritance tax
[Re: Stealth hike in inheritance tax not the answer to care crisis]
It is hugely disappointing that the promised increase in the inheritance tax threshold to £1m seems to have been abandoned. Inheritance tax is particularly pernicious, and it destroys the country’s capital stock for use in current government consumption spending. An inheritance is often the seedcorn of small businesses – many people would never want to borrow from a bank. So allowing families to keep more of their inheritance should be at the core of Conservative policy.
John Hill
You are right that taxpayers should not be in the business of subsidising the wealthy in their twilight years. Plenty of people should be able to afford insurance products that would protect them in that situation. In that respect, hiking taxes to pay for this initiative is a bad thing. However, if we are going to have taxes, then inheritance tax strikes me as a fair option, the argument being that your money is no good to you when you’re dead. If I were running the country, the first thing I would do is abolish employer’s national insurance contributions. Creating jobs is a good thing, so it seems crazy to tax it. If that had to be paid for by putting up taxes elsewhere, then inheritance tax might well be at the top of my list.
Adam Jacobs
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Best of twitter
I’m impressed by the Pope’s humility. Very few people at that level of power would have his depth of self-abnegation.
@patrickmadrid
In quitting, the Pope is saying Popes shouldn’t serve until death. Is that the most radical reform to the Papacy he’s made?
@AndrewLilico
The cap on care costs a sensible move, but Londoners will be hit harder than most due to higher care costs and house prices.
@nickfaith82
Inheritance tax is another U-turn for the Tories. But it was central to their manifesto – many voted for them on that basis.
@MotoClark