Philip

Fine if your married - what about the millions of couples that are not. Also £600000 for a couple nowhere near approaches £1m for an individual.

If middle england really thinks about this they will realise they have been conned again by this labour government.

Regards

Malcolm, Theoule, France

As I have always suspected Gordon is just a bean counter and it seems Alistair is in the same vain, they can fiddle the fugures but have no ideas of their own. He mentioned his vision yesterday, the only vision he has is of himself ruling the country for 20 years, does Gordon really think we are the morons!

Martin, Nottingham,

Lets look at another political weekly event say SOAPS! As we know from that Arena two different camps will come up with the same story LINE, Line, line. !!!!!!!!!!

andand@kent, Tunbridge Wells,

The funniest thing about the IHT changes is the tabloid commentators claiming that this is just spin, as you can currently transfer your tax allowance between husband and wife through advance tax planning. That's very true (I used to design such schemes). But in all the campiagns about the IHT threshold these same commentators focussed on the personal allowance and not the tax planned amount. Afterall it's a much harder story to sell when you are talking about houses over £600,000 than £300,000.

With a stroke Darling has shot the Tory IHT fox. The transfer of IHT allowances is now for everyone and not just those lucky enough to have a good financial adviser.

Neil Lovatt, Glasgow, Renfrewshire

Yep!

But 2009 will do just fine!

William, London,

Why are Labour still in power? They are unimaginative and incompetent, they're unable to come up with good ideas of their own, and they failed to deliver what they'd promised in the last 10 years. Nothing from Labour is original, they can't even write the own speeches.

Alexis, Perth,

OH get real. Alot of the public have. They have just made you look like chumps over the election.Do you think people of the middle class who were worried about IHT hadn't already worked out about tenancies-in common? They have all been at it over the last few years.Apparently you think your readership is abit stupid. This Government are not just stretching their own credibility.

Ali, York,

The guidance from the Treasury says that it is a transfer of unused allowance to the surviving spouse. It is NOT a doubling of the allowance. Therefore this is nothing more than a con as usual.

Do they think we're that stupid?, London,

As always, Labours promises are meaningless, empty "spin".

Spouses can already transfer/ bequeth assets with incurring IHT.

So whats changed for widows who already made use of the IHT limit when their spouse died ? NOTHING

alfaman, bedfordshire,

The benefit is the number of people who do not use nil rate band trusts, and there are many more of them that you may think!

But the big change is the focus for the IHT debate is now £700,000 or £1M for the vast majority of individuals. I'm going to find it difficult to have a great deal of sympathy for anyone with net assets greater than £700,000, especially when the money can go to schools and hospitals.

Neil Lovatt, Glasgow, Renfrewshire

1) Doesn't look like any new allowance for a couple that have taken tax advice
2) Exactly how is a "married couple's IHT allowance" going to work if both people don't die at once (and even then the elder is deemed to have died first) ?

.... Will someone who's spouse died 50 years ago get the full £700K IHT allowance ? What happens to the IHT from a previous marriage if someone re-marries ?

I expect this government to try and make this IHT change to disappear when it gets probed ? I wonder if HMR&C got a chance to scrutinise if this was implementable ?

Nick Bridgwater, Warwick,

IHT ambiguity

Yes I agree witht the Londoner from Victoria - but is it clear ?

Great move in the headlines, BUT if it is simply 300k for each spouse is now 600k for the surviivng spouse only then it is political suicide.

Only a imbecile would make such a basic error of judgement and if it has been done then Gordon is really on the way out.

Clarify it tomorrow - 600k for the estate or not ?

Peter
Belfast

Peter Wilson, BELFAST, N Ireland

How has GB "completely neutralised their plans on inheritance tax"? Admittedly he has increased the allowance for transfer between spouses - but surely this only replaces the nil rate band discretionary trusts that could already be created? Yes this has reduced legal costs for the trusts, but there is no additional benefit?

Londoner, Victoria,