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Thousands more families will be dragged into the 40 per cent inheritance tax (IHT) band in the coming years after Chancellor George Osborne decided to freeze the tax-free £325,000 threshold until 2019. The freeze - which reverses a previous Conservative policy to dramatically increase the threshold - means many more estates will become subject to the tax as asset prices, and property prices in particular, continue to rise. When someone dies, IHT is paid on any amount over £325,000 they leave behind - so someone with assets worth £500,000 would pay 40 per cent on £175,000 (£70,000). Enlarge   Tax trap: The IHT threshold has been the same since 2009 - if it had increased in line with RPI it would be around £358,000 for the 2013 tax year The level from which the tax is paid has been the subject of much anger from middle-earners who complain that rapid property price rises in the past two decades have dramatically increased the value of estates. They say that those with relativel

A massive crackdown on inheritance tax evasion has been launched by HM Revenue & Customs as fears grow that the Coalition wants to squeeze more cash from ordinary families. Experts say early action by families to minimise IHT is vital and warn the later they leave it, the fewer options there are. The taxman is increasingly investigating people’s tax affairs after death to make sure they have kept strictly to the IHT rules. The tough line follows last month’s announcement by the Chancellor that the £325,000 IHT threshold – above which estates are taxed at 40 per cent – will be frozen for six more years to 2019. George Osborne, who in 2007 promised that he would ‘take the family home out of inheritance tax’ by increasing the IHT threshold to £1 million, was accused of ‘betraying ordinary families’. Legacy: Patricia Gliddon, 90, with her youngest great-grandchild Ella Gliddon, ten months, has limited her IHT liability Opponents of IHT, one of the most controversial and hated o

George Osborne has much soul-searching ahead of him in  the run-up to his  Autumn Statement on December 5. Hopefully, the Chancellor will have the strength of character to execute U-turns on two policies that as they stand are set to  alienate more than 1.5 million people (many of them natural Tory voters) from the Conservative Party. The first is the new tax on children, designed to claw back benefit for those with an income  of £50,000 or more. I’ve said it many times before,  but I will repeat myself in case the message hasn’t quite got through  to Number 11. The tax is wrong, on two levels. First, it is wickedly unfair, hitting households where one parent earns above £50,000 while ignoring those where the overall household  income tops £50,000 but where no individual earner is earning more than that sum to trigger the tax. Second, it is a crass, clumsy and ill-thought attempt to save money that will cause headaches for thousands of households as they grapple for the first time wit

Britain's highest earners will benefit to the tune of more than £100,000-a-year from George Osborne's 5p cut to the top rate of tax, which will come down from 50p to 45p in April. Labour critics had originally balked at the fact it would save some 8,000 of the richest people in the country £40,000 a year. But leader Ed Miliband will claim in figures being published today that those earning more than £1million stand to benefit by an average of £107,500 as a result of the changes. Labour leader Ed Miliband: Government decided to stand up for the 'wrong people' The claim comes ahead of next week's autumn statement on the economy by the Chancellor. Mr Miliband is expected to tell factory workers today that they were paying the price for the Government's decision to stand up for the 'wrong people'. 'David Cameron and George Osborne believe the only way to persuade millionaires to work harder is to give them more money. 'But they also seem

A cut to the top 45 per cent rate of income tax should be considered in order to encourage more foreign investment in the capital, London mayor Boris Johnson suggested today. On his final day of a tour in India, Johnson praised the country for having a more attractive regime for entrepreneurs. He said Chancellor George Osborne should 'brood' on whether the top rate of tax should be cut to something like the 30 per cent enjoyed by the Mumbai businessmen he was addressing. They asked the mayor whether London could be made more attractive to foreign investors through less regulation, to which Mr Johnson replied that the tax regime 'needed to be looked at'. Tax tips: London Mayor Boris Johnson addresses a gathering of Indian businessmen Speaking at the Bombay Stock Exchange on the final day of his trip, Mr Johnson said: 'You've got tax rates here of only 30 per cent - a point George Osborne might like to brood on. 'It's 10 per cent for freelance i

A cut to the top 45 per cent rate of income tax should be considered in order to encourage more foreign investment in the capital, London mayor Boris Johnson suggested today. On his final day of a tour in India, Johnson praised the country for having a more attractive regime for entrepreneurs. He said Chancellor George Osborne should 'brood' on whether the top rate of tax should be cut to something like the 30 per cent enjoyed by the Mumbai businessmen he was addressing. They asked the mayor whether London could be made more attractive to foreign investors through less regulation, to which Mr Johnson replied that the tax regime 'needed to be looked at'. Tax tips: London Mayor Boris Johnson addresses a gathering of Indian businessmen Speaking at the Bombay Stock Exchange on the final day of his trip, Mr Johnson said: 'You've got tax rates here of only 30 per cent - a point George Osborne might like to brood on. 'It's 10 per cent for freelance i

The Daily Mail City team explains why George Osborne is pumping more money into Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs One of life’s two certainties? Yes, if the people who work at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs get their way. They are responsible for overseeing the money flowing into government coffers and, if necessary, chasing it down from people or corporations who are unwilling to part with it. Taxing times: The Treasury is suffering a £32billion loss of revenue due to uncollected tax Don’t I pay enough? Quite possibly. But we’re told there aren’t enough collectors and they aren’t funded well enough. This is at the core of the problems with the UK’s £32billion tax gap. That is why George Osborne yesterday proposed to give HMRC an extra £154million.   More... Taxman has spent too long targeting small firms when the biggest tax dodgers are the multi-national giants How big is the problem? In 2005 some 97,073 people worked at HMRC, but by 2010 that had fallen to 66,992

Relieved: Rosie Gregory welcomed the scrapping of a rise in fuel tax With no economic growth this year and predictions that 2013 will be little better, the Chancellor had little choice but to turn the screw. There was some good news in George Osborne’s Autumn Statement, however, despite the missed debt-reduction targets, with a surprise income tax cut and a welcome reprieve for motorists. There was also recognition of the plight of those on drawdown pensions who have seen their income cut – an issue brought to his attention by Financial Mail’s campaigning on the scandal in  the past couple of months. But every giveaway had to be balanced with a clawback as the Chancellor nibbled away at  the value of benefit payments and launched yet another raid on pensions. Financial Mail sets out the winners and losers from tax, benefit and spending changes that will take the Coalition up to the next  General Election. Income tax More than 20 million taxpayers will see a modest cut in their in

From Monday a child benefit shake up, which means those earning over £50,000 will have at least some of their payments removed, will affect more than 1.2million families. Yet, despite a government push to explain the complicated and controversial plans, it is thought that a third of those families might still be in the dark regarding the changes. Are you affected? And if so, what are your options? We explain. All change: Child benefit changes will affect 1.2 million families - but what should you do? What’s happening? Technically no one is having child benefit payments removed, but the changes mean that some people will end up having them taken back through tax and so may no longer wish to receive them. From 7 January the partner with the highest income will face an extra tax charge to take back child benefit, depending on how much they earn. If their income is £60,000 or more, the tax charge will be the same as any child benefit received– effectively cancelling it out. However

Almost a million taxpayers have failed to file their self-assessment tax returns and will now be hit with a £100 fine. HM Revenue and Customs has revealed it will be issuing around 850,000 late filing penalties to taxpayers who did not meet the January 31 deadline for online personal tax returns for 2011/12. And for most of these the punishment will get even harsher. Some 790,000 had still not filed their return between February 1 and 15, who will now start accruing daily fines of £10. In the mail: HMRC coffers will be boosted to the tune of £85million as £100 fines are sent out to the 850,000 taxpayers who did not return their self-assessment forms on time. A HMRC spokesman said: 'Anyone who hasn’t yet sent their 2011-12 tax return to HMRC will have already incurred a £100 late-filing penalty. 'To avoid any further penalties, they should send their return as soon as possible, as well as paying any outstanding tax due for the 2011-12 tax year.' Those who filed their

  Charities, like businesses and households, are feeling the pinch, but the sector is suffering from a double whammy - not only have their incomes collapsed but demand for their services is greater than ever. Race for life: Georgie Battye and Ben Pilling hope to raise £10,000 for the charity that has helped her sister But there is one easy way to boost charities' incomes - ask that nice taxman. Charities lose out on millions of pounds each year because 40% of donors forget to declare they are taxpayers when making a gift. Charitable donations by UK taxpayers can be boosted by tax relief at 28% - known as Gift Aid. But if the charity is to benefit, those giving money must make a Gift Aid declaration. Joanna Barnett, executive director at virginmoneygiving.com, the official sponsorship website for the London Marathon, says: 'Charity funding is under severe pressure as donors cut back in the recession. 'It makes it all the more depressing that Gift Aid is not de

  They have devoted almost all their time and energy to building up fortunes worth billions. And now they are going to give most of it away. Warren Buffett: The World's third richest man is among those donating. In the biggest charity donation in history, 40 American billionaires have pledged to give at least half of their money to good causes. Star Wars director George Lucas, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Hilton hotels owner Barron Hilton are among those who will provide an estimated £250bn. Others pledging fortunes include media mogul Ted Turner, fashion director Diane Von Furstenberg, David Rockefeller, the heir to the Rockefeller fortune, and construction billionaire Eli Broad. The unprecedented commitment was brokered by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett over a series of intimate dinners. They set up The Giving Pledge, which asks billionaires to make a 'moral commitment' to give away at least 50% of their wealth to charity

  Tens of millions of pounds donated to charities every year by the public through 'chuggers' seldom get further than private fundraising companies, an investigation has revealed. Unjust cause: Collection companies often recieve more than charities. Charities pay huge sums to firms that employ so-called 'charity muggers' who stop people in the street and try to persuade them to donate by direct debit. But the charities often don't see a penny of this donated money because the 'chugging' firm charges are so high. Last year, 750,000 people signed on the dotted line, giving an average contribution of £90 a year. But a BBC investigation has found the charities are often paying the companies, in effect, £100 or more for each signature they collect - meaning in many cases the company is paid more than the charity will raise from that donor in the first year. And many of those signed up by these sub-contractors do not complete 12 months of donations.

  Doing a marathon for charity this weekend? your first 1.3 miles could be in aid of a lucrative company - and not your favourite cause... Anne Marie Huby: 'People have a tendency to believe that charities are run on thin air but the cost of fundraising is really high'. From the fun-runners in fancy dress for the Great Gorilla Run in the City of London to the slightly more serious participants in the Dumfries and Windsor half-marathons, thousands of Brits were today happily raising money for charity. Many will have used fundraising sites because they are so simple - you input your details to make your own page, saying what you will do to raise money, and then invite everyone you know to donate by sending them an email. You can link to your Facebook page and even set up an automated 'thank-you' email to everyone who donates. You will get an alert every time someone gives money, you can keep track of your total, read encouraging messages and avoid having to pri

  Jeremy Hunt, the millionaire Culture Secretary, has risked angering the middle classes by lambasting the better-off for not giving enough money to charity. Cough up: We do not donate as much as other nations. Mr Hunt also believes they should do more to help their communities by volunteering. He said yesterday: 'The people who give the most are often the people who have the least.' Most controversially, Mr Hunt wants it to become the norm to leave 10% of an estate to good causes when a person dies. But his comments risk enraging millions who are having to tighten their belts as a result of the recession and face further pressures from the VAT rise on January 4. The minister - in the news earlier this week after two Radio 4 presenters accidentally pronounced his surname with a C - also leaves himself open to the charge that he would like to see charities filling the funding gaps created by Coalition cuts. In a speech to the European Association of Philanthropy and G

  Cressida Dimmock has started the New Year with a resolution to donate £5 each month straight from her pay packet to help support a cause close to her heart. Gift: Cressida Dimmock gives to the Breast Cancer Campaign Cressida, 28, is giving to the Breast Cancer Campaign after her mother Marianne, 61, was diagnosed with the cancer. She is fortunately now in remission after treatment. Cressida, of Hampstead, north-west London, says: 'I've previously supported the campaign with one-off donations and hope to continue in the future. But I feel it is good to make a steady, regular donation too.' The Government wants to create a revolution in charitable giving, harnessing new technology to speed the process. It is exploring ways to make it easier for everyone to support good causes. In the meantime, givers such as Cressida can make every pound they give count by ensuring that today's donations are tax-efficient. Cressida uses payroll giving, which are schemes

  A charity that has developed a way of modernising the old-fashioned donating tin is hoping the government's new drive to encourage more giving will bring in millions of pounds. Thing of the past?: Pennies Foundation is modernising the old fashioned collection box The Pennies Foundation which launched last year is pioneering an innovative scheme that allows retailers to place an electronic charity collection box on their websites. Budget hotel chain Travelodge launched a version on its website yesterday. Customers will be given the opportunity to round up the price of their room and food purchase to the nearest pound with just one click - when booking online. Each retailer can nominate a variety of chosen charities. Last month the government launched a consultation process calling for charitable giving to become a 'social norm' which could prompt people to give to charity every time they use bank cards in shops or at cash machines. The consultation runs until

  An unemployed woman whose estranged mother bequeathed her entire £486,000 fortune to animal charities has won a landmark legal case for a share of the estate. Heather Ilott: Won her appeal despite her mother's explicit wishes (see below) Heather Ilott, 50, fell out with her mother Melita Jackson after running away at 17 to live with her boyfriend. The pair barely spoke over the next quarter of a century and when Mrs Jackson died aged 70 in 2004 she left every penny to The Blue Cross, RSPCA and RSPB. Mrs Ilott challenged the will claiming 'reasonable provision' from her mother's estate and was initially awarded £50,000 before the decision was overturned at the High Court. But the Court of Appeal yesterday said it was 'unreasonable' for Mrs Jackson to disinherit her daughter, a mother of five, who can now return to the High Court to request an even larger share. The decision was made despite Mrs Jackson insisting from beyond the grave in a 'letter

  BT has launched a new free online charitable fundraising service which promises to pass on 100% of the donation - minus debit and credit card fees. It's good to give: BT has launched a new charity giving website The service, which is similar to JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving, allows people to register to give money to charity or collect fundraising donations. The website, called MyDonate, guarantees that 100% of all money donated through the site will go to the charity (excluding credit/debit charges) unlike other services which take a proportion as commission. This means that there will be no subscription, set-up or commission fee for for any donations made through the site and BT has worked with charities, including Cancer Research UK, NSPCC and Women's Aid, to develop it. BT's launch is backed by new research it commissioned showing that people were influenced to donate to a particular cause by how much of their money actually went to the charity and w

  Identity fraud is evolving into more complex, subtle forms - and it's posing a growing threat. Research by CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service, shows that it can take more than 15 months on average before people realise that they've become the victim of an ID fraudster. And by then it may be too late to rescue your credit rating. We've teamed up with Experian to offer you ID fraud protection. Sign-up for your free trial below: function checkForm(fId) { var Errors = "Sorry there were errors: \n\n"; if(fId.preForename.value ==''||fId.preForename.value =='your first name'){ Errors = Errors + "Please enter your first name \n"; fId.preForename.value ='your first name'; } if(fId.preSurname.value ==''||fId.preSurname.value =='your last name'){ Errors = Errors + "Please enter your last name \n"; fId.preSurname.value ='your last name'; } if(fId.preEmail.value ==''||fId.pre

  It doesn't have to cost the earth to stay in touch. There are a number of ways you can cut the cost of calls, no matter where your friends and family live. PC to PC Download Skype* and you can enjoy free calls to other Skype users. There are no hidden costs - it's free to download and free to use. All you need is a broadband connection. Plus, if you have a webcam, you can make video calls and talk face to face. Download Skype*   PC to landline Instead of using a landline such as BT or Virgin, Vonage* uses your existing broadband connection. Call plans start at just £5.99 a month and you can make unlimited calls within the UK and around the world. Another advantage to Vonage* is that it could be cheaper for friends and family to phone you. When you sign up with Vonage.co.uk you receive a phone number - you can pick any area code, regardless of where you live. Friends and family can use this number to call you cheaply. For example, if you've moved abroad