IHT threshold changes evaluated by financing expert

Thu, 22 Mar 2007

The government's proposals to revamp the inheritance tax system have met with a mixed response from one financing analyst.

In yesterday's Budget address to parliament, chancellor Gordon Brown outlined plans to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £350,000 by 2010.

John Carrier, chief executive of financial services provider Scarborough Building Society, suggested the change would be welcomed by people concerned about the impact of rising property prices on the estate left for their children.

"It is good to see a rise in the inheritance tax threshold up to £350,000," he said.

"This has obviously been raised to try to compensate for the dramatic increase in house prices over the last five years."

However, Mr Carrier concluded by pointing out that the delayed introduction of the measures means that the redefined thresholds will "only be broadly in line with inflation" and so may not have a significant impact upon the financing plans of many families.

Recently, Nationwide Building Society reported that the average annual house price had risen by 10.2 per cent over the past 12 months, potentially meaning more families will have to factor IHT into their future financing plans.

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