Inheritance tax is 'ticking time bomb'
More house-owners are set to be affected by inheritance tax, following the release of housing prices for London and the South East.
Today the Land Registery calculated the average cost of a home in London and the South East at £220,000, putting many tax payers into the ‘IHT net’ as the nil rate band is currently £242,000.
Chartered Institute of Taxation president John Whiting said the increase in the average cost of a home threw a question mark over the 2001 Budget claim that just 4% of estates had to pay IHT.
‘The growth in house prices means that there is a potential time bomb ticking within the IHT system,’ he warned.
Quoting the Royal Chartered Institute of Surveyors, the CIoT said 10% of houses in these regions would cost more than £250,000 by 2012.