Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration she has given to the potential merits of extending the exemption of assets liable for inheritance tax payable in yearly instalments to investments in companies in administration or liquidation.

Inheritance tax on shares in companies in administration or the process of liquidation at the time of a transfer, such as a death, may qualify for payment in annual instalments if they meet the criteria in s228 of Inheritance Tax Act 1984.

When paying in annual instalments, the outstanding balance of tax only becomes payable in full immediately if an interest or part of an interest in a business is sold. A distribution in cash made to shareholders on a liquidation is the winding up of a company, rather than a sale, and so the facility to pay in instalments is not lost in those circumstances.