Halifax research has calculated that almost one in three detached property sales in the UK is now above the inheritance tax threshold of £275,000.
In addition, the bank found that the average price of a detached property in the UK is currently £270,107, only 2% beneath the inheritance tax threshold. Five years ago, only 13% of detached property sales were above the threshold of £234,000.
Research from the Halifax has revealed that the government will make the same amount from Inheritance Tax revenue as it will from beer and cider duties in 2005 and 2006. Both levies are estimated to make the government in 2005/6 around £3.4 billion. This is higher than revenues from Capital Gains Tax at £3 billion and Petroleum Revenue Tax at £1.5 billion.
Inheritance Tax bills rose to £1.1 billion, compared with £480 million in 1997 while Stamp Duty, at £5.5 billion, accounts for most of the tax paid by home-owners.
By contrast, the government's decision to raise the Stamp Duty's threshold from £60,000 to £120,000 before the last general election has reduced payments on residential property by only £250 million, and this figure is set to yet decline, as the number of homes sold for under £120,000 falls.
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Make no mistake, property is the next big tax earner for this country!
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