For quite a few years now, if you had a £2m or more to spare, you’ve been able to buy your way into the UK just as easily as to any other tin-pot tax haven. Our erstwhile Home Secretary this week declared herself (to paraphrase Claude Rains as the corrupt policeman in ‘Casablanca’, kids etc.) ‘Shocked, shocked’ to find that some of those £ms might be the proceeds of dodgy dealings; and in particular Russian dodgy dealings. Something which has been an open secret, certainly amongst London estate agents, for years. Then on the same day, we heard of her plans to push boats full of migrants with no money back to France. Hang your head in shame, Priti.
“Why most won’t need to worry about IHT on pensions”
Many a government has made the point that only a minority will be affected by this or that tax change or tinker. It is, however, both perception and aspiration which are important, and they are what makes IHT the ‘most hated’ of all taxes – along with all the others, of course.
