Inheritance tax punches above it s weight. It is paid by only a small minority of estates, yet manages to be Britain's most hated tax and its most controversial. Some believe it's immoral double taxation and should be axed altogether, others say crank it up - and somewhere in the middle there are many people who feel that taking 40% is just too much. But it's also a tax that even those with an expensive home and plenty of savings can generally avoid if they choose, by spending more and giving more away in their lifetime. The problem is that they need to survive seven years or they may get caught by some very outdated gifting allowances. Yet, there is a little-known loophole that allows people to give away considerably more without worrying about the seven-year rule. Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert look at inheritance tax and the surplus income rule. They discuss this trick to beat death duties and the catches it comes with and all the other rules surrounding IHT. Also — noisy heat pumps, the British ISA meets its maker and our failure to support the high streets that we moan about dying.
