Lord Eatwell
Main Page: Lord Eatwell (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Eatwell's debates with the HM Treasury
(12 years, 11 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Sassoon
My Lords, I hear clearly what my noble friend says and I am sure that the Ministry of Justice will want to move faster, but I am just giving what the backstop date is.
Lord Eatwell
I think that everyone is in agreement that the structure of inheritance tax at the moment is unsatisfactory, as illustrated by the data that the Minister presented in his Answer. It has stimulated a large avoidance industry and it contains perverse incentives. In the spirit of the season, may I offer the Minister the gift of a constructive proposal? We should cease to levy inheritance tax on estates and instead should levy it on recipients. That would significantly reduce avoidance and would incentivise the wider distribution of wealth.
Lord Sassoon
My Lords, as I said, we have no plans to review the law, but we are always interested in constructive suggestions, wherever they come from.