If you wanted a reason to expand #inheritancetax (form the 3% of estates its currently levied on), this would be it.... a massive consolidation of #wealth is about to really accelerate as the Baby Boomers continue leave the stage (putting it delicately).
Lately the Canadian media has been rehashing the incident last year in Parliament when Zelensky was here, but I see absolutely no mention of this...
Three Conservative MPs who met with far-right German politician will stay in caucus
Anderson , a member of European Parliament ..... which has been under surveillance as a suspected extremist group in Germany and is accused of downplaying Nazi crimes, opposing immigration and pushing anti-Muslim ideology.
They have known for over a century, at least since the 1950's.
The #FirstNations and #NativeAmericans are right: the earth 🌎 doesn't belong to anyone. Therefore, its proceeds belong to all inhabitants.
#Norway is a prosperous, democratic country today, despite its #viking past.
Its #FossilFuel proceeds feed an investment fund for all natives and not some #billionaires whose ancestors got lucky.
This post has some links with further info on Mozilla finance. Personally, I do not agree with @mttaggart|s conclusions because I view that type of organization differently: no one needs to earn this much money in a non-profit. From a European perspective, the US often have very strange notions about what it means to be non-profit.
It's like when #Billionaires make up their own "#ArtGallery" or "#Museum" but since it's "appointment-only" it's rather their private collection and de-facto not accessible even if one is willing to pay for that...
So #JeremyHunt looks to have stepped back from a reduction in (or abandoning) #InheritanceTax & is now likely to focus on a 1% reduction in headline #incometax.
Its all part of his aim to make the UK a 'low tax' economy, but given that for most of us the reason its a 'high tax' economy is because of the fiscal drag of not matching tax allowances to #inflation, actually this tax cut won't even make up for the stealth rises engineered by recent Tory Chancellors.
While #RAAC revelations raised the profile of #infrastructure problems & lack of maintenance across the #publicsector, especially in #health & #education, if you're expecting #JeremyHunt to fund a massive programme of remedial works, then you're likely to be disappointed.
Rather than dealing with our crumbling buildings, he'll be setting out how to increase #taxes on most of us (by allowing 'fiscal drag' - not using allowances - to continue) while helping the rich by cutting #InheritanceTax!
Of course.... and now #JeremyHunt is looking to cut #InheritanceTax - a tax paid by less than 5% of estates each year... so a tax reduction only the richest will benefit from, that will have no impact on effective demand (his reasoning for tax cuts) and will enhance inheritance as the engine that maintains #inequality!
I'm not surprised that he's going to do it, he's a #Tory after all!
To be clear: #InheritanceTax is a tax on unearned income coming to the recipients, not a tax on those who've died.
Lets start there & ask why people should be advantaged in life by the accident of having rich(er) but now dead parents?
You'll want to claim a 'right' to give things to your children, but given the law (except in particular circumstances) doesn't support contesting wills on the basis of a 'right' to inherit, why do we privilege the interests of the dead?
A simple Q. produces one sort of response, a more nuanced Q. something a little different;
it comes down to whether the Q. is framed as a general issue of being able to pass on wealth to the following generation tax-free, or accepting that it will be taxed & asking by how much;
the former makes it seem people do not want #IHT, but the latter reveals a desire for fairness & taxation of inheritance.
Why is #RishiSunak interested in reforming #inheritancetax, a #tax which is paid by less than 4% of estates annually... well, perhaps its do with the fact that most people who pay IHT live in constituencies that have a #Tory MP.
As we hurtle towards the next #election, his sudden interest in inheritance(s) make sense.
The problem he faces is this is just so easy to fit into a narrative of a party only interested in helping the rich(est); a slogan handed to Labour on a plate!
Zoe Williams suggests we're coming at the #inheritancetax 'debate' from the wrong direction:
'...we should go in studs first: suggest setting inheritance tax at 100%. No windfalls for anyone, ever; total generational redistribution delivered by death, the merry reaper. You may have questions, such as “what’s it all for, if I can’t burnish the prospects of my 58-year-old heirs?”& those questions may be legit. At least the debate will be different, and more interesting'
Just in case you think that #RishiSunak's potential pledge to change/abolish #InheritanceTax might be a populist measure... here's the Government's own analysis on its reach.... hmmm, only a pretty small minority of deaths result in a IHT tax payment.
So whatever the claims, this is yet another bung (if it ever happens) to the rich (and he knows that, of course)