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Article:
The Budget 2005 & Inheritance Tax: Has the Chancellor Done Enough? by: Janine Byrne Introduction 'The Government's economic objective is to build a strong economy and a fair society, where there is opportunity and security for all.' So reads the opening statement of the Labour Government's 2005 Budget. But the word 'fair' is wide off the mark when considering the incidence of inheritance tax on an increasing number of homeowners over the past few years. The Inheritance Tax Problem Over the past few years inheritance tax ceased to be the 'rich person's tax' or the 'voluntary' tax which it used to be. The cause of the problem has been the ever increasing scale of house prices resulting in property values which far exceed the Nil Rate Band exemption for inheritance tax. Research conducted by stockbrokers Brewin Dolphin, there are an estimated 2.4 million homes across the UK that are now valued above the £'263
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