Labour Makes Calls for Significant Changes to Inheritance Tax Laws

The new leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, has called for significant changes to be made to Inheritance Tax (IHT) laws, arguing that regulations should be graded to make the process fairer.

IHT is a contentious issue and one that played a huge role in the 2015 general election, with both the Labour and Conservative parties making headlines with various announcements regarding their plans for the tax.

Most recently, Corbyn spoke about his party’s ideas to change IHT legislation on the Andrew Marr Show, stating that he would like to see the rules changes so that a "normal house" could be passed on tax-free.

Corbyn said: "The richest 60,000 families have suddenly had a tax break. It should be graded actually." He also noted that "when you cut the overall rate of Inheritance Tax, that means that the very richest become richer because of it."

Under the current rules, a couple has a tax-free personal allowance of £650,000 combined, although this will increase to £1 million between now and the next general election. Corbyn has accused the "richest and most powerful" families and individuals in the country of using the media "to try and defend their wealth and their inheritance."

The divisive political party UKIP have also hit the headlines recently by making a complete U-turn on their call for the abolition of IHT. The party now states that instead of scrapping IHT, it will use money saved from exiting the European Union to help increase public sector salaries.

What do you make of the controversy surrounding IHT?  Do you think further reviews are needed to make the process fairer for ordinary families?