Recently there have been calls to abolish inheritance tax. Paul Johnson takes us through the facts in 90 seconds.
Authors
Paul Johnson
Director
Paul has been the Director of the IFS since 2011. He is also currently visiting professor in the Department of Economics at University College London.
Explainer details
- DOI
- 10.1920/ex.ifs.2023.0008
- Publisher
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
Suggested citation
Johnson, P. (2023). Should we abolish inheritance tax? [Explainer] Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/should-we-abolish-inheritance-tax (accessed: 30 June 2024).
More from IFS
Understand this issue
Election Special: Your questions answered
podcast
In the final run up to the election, we answer your questions about everything from borrowing to AI to the part that luck plays in the economy.
27 June 2024
Election Special: The big issues politicians haven't spoken about
podcast
What are the manifestos missing? What are the big challenges facing us? And what information should voters be aware of as they head to the polls?
25 June 2024
Election Special: The Labour manifesto explained
podcast
We discuss the Labour manifesto launched on Thursday and give our reaction to the policies and pledges within it.
14 June 2024
Policy analysis
How would the parties’ tax and spending plans affect Scotland and Wales?
report
This ‘explainer’ looks at how the parties’ proposals would affect Scotland and Wales, covering tax, spending, public finances and the constitution.
28 June 2024
What are the parties’ plans for benefits and taxes?
calculator
Use our simple interactive tool to see how the parties’ plans for benefits and taxes would impact household incomes over the next five years.
24 June 2024
Plaid Cymru manifesto: a response
comment
An assessment of the tax and spending changes proposed in the 2024 Plaid Cymru general election manifesto
13 June 2024
Academic research
House price rises and borrowing to invest
working paper
We propose a borrow-to-invest motive by which house price gains affect household spending on residential investment.
27 March 2024
The intergenerational elasticity of earnings: Exploring the mechanisms
working paper
We use data covering a single cohort’s first 55 years of life to explain the differences in the intergenerational elasticity of earnings.
3 June 2024
The life-cycle dynamics of wealth mobility
working paper
In this paper, we use 25 years of tax records for the Norwegian population and find considerable wealth mobility over the life cycle.
10 April 2024