Inheritance tax

Gilly have you the time or inclination to appeal against your valuation? My sister did this and went down a band and it was backdated but I can’t remember for how many years. It was a tidy sum

Oh! Not very fair, gillybob

It was cancelled for all but new builds Calli .

Long story short .... My ( then) new build 2 bedroom terrace was re banded in 2011 ( as were all new builds) we were told that older properties would follow . Then it was cancelled and we were stuck in a band much higher than the value of our house could ever have been in 1991 !

Well I never knew that about Wales ( just googled ) they also added an extra band I.

I meant me - it's what my friend always says!

Call you and me both

Thanks lemon - yes that’s true - but it’s still valued as what it would have been worth in 1991 if it had had the extension then. It’s crazy isn’t it because if you stay in it, it isn’t revalued. I think council tax reform is like social care - no government of any colour dares go near reforming either when the chips are down.

I assumed it had happened all over the country, I wonder why not?

Never assume anything.

Sorry Call, I didn’t think about you not being in England.

suzie if you sell up and buy another house ( as we did a few years ago) it was revalued as it had been extended.
You can add to your house and not pay more in CT, but when you sell it, they revalue.

No, suziewoozie, all houses were revalued.
Perhaps it did not happen in England then?

Callistemon - when your house was revalued in 2003 had you had some improvementsc done?

If someone has worked hard all their life to save money why should that be taken away from them. There will be an awful lot of ordinary people caught up in this. It will not be the super wealthy as they have the funds to protect what they have.

Our house was re-valued for council tax purposes in 2003 - how come yours has not been re-valued since 1991?

Is it me or is there a misunderstanding on here about how council tax bands operate? Your house is put in the band based on what the house was worth on 1 April 1991 not what it is worth now. That’s one of the issues around council tax - there haven’t been revaluations of house valuations and the number of bands haven’t increased.

All of Westminster's domestic properties are in Band H (valued at over £320,00) properties and paying £1508. I have just been on Rightmove. After excluding the parking spaces, houseboats, hotel rooms and shared ownership properties the cheapest property I could find, a 1 bedroomed flat, was £485,000, which would put it in Band H. Public sector housing accounted for less than 20% of the housing stock

How many Band H properties in Gateshead? Of 32 pages of property advertised for sale in Gateshead, one and a half pages were in Band H. 7 pages were Band D and under. A third of all properties are in the public sector so likely to be in lower tax bands and will not appear on Rightmove.

It is still not a fair system, though. To have such a discrepancy between the level of council tax for the same bands in the same country is wrong.
I am not sure what the council tax on a Band H property in Gateshead would be, if the charge on a Band D property is more than that on a Band H in, for example, Westminster.

If you take that to its logical conclusion, then you allow people to pay minimal tax and make their own choices as to which services they wish to support, or indeed if they wish to support any at all.

So, my guess is there would be rich pickings for animal charities, children's hospitals, hospices, etc, etc, - and very much less money available for less "cuddly" services, such as drug/alcohol addiction, mental health, domestic violence, prisons, etc. etc.

kircubbin The research shows that, although there are of course exceptions, generally speaking wealth is accumulated across the generations by means of inheritance. Of course, some people do manage their money better than others but the main determinant of wealth is being born into a wealthy family.

I think having £125,000 to spare is very wealthy.
It probably is but if people own their own home then, counting that as an asset, £125,000 is not 'wealthy' especially in some areas of the UK.

Helping DC through university, for example, would cost more than £3,000 which is the present tax-free gift allowance per annum.

I was recently stunned to hear that an elderly acquaintance had bought a helicopter. Turns out it was presented to the air ambulance service. This person has no children and would rather choose where her money went now rather than leave it to be generally taxed away. She must have been very wealthy and determined! A good cause though.

Oh dear someone else who hasn’t read the report.

It isn’t about money.

Why do we need to even out the gap between rich and poor? If someone has saved a large amount and wishes to pass it on to children I see no problem with that.

What idea lemon?

Hopefully McDonnell will never be in a position to do anything (yes Callistomen he’s a plonker) just like his running mate ( or should that be cycling mate?) ?
In any case, it’s a bad idea, and is unlikely to see the light of day.

Light hearted.

Well I did say I don't follow your reasoning and still don't even with your explanation.

Hey ho.