New research by Financial Planner and wealth manager Tilney has shown the depth of public disdain for death duties.

A survey of 6,000 British adults, carried out last week, revealed that 47% did not think there should be any tax on assets after a person dies.

This compared to 41% who believe there should be a tax on assets above a certain threshold and only 3% who believe tax should be levied on all assets on a deceased persons’ assets.

Opposition to taxing any assets on death was felt most keenly by adults aged 45-54 (52%) and by women (50%).

Across age groups, 18-24 year olds were the only cohort where the proportion of people in favour of taxing all assets, or assets above a threshold (42%), outweighed those opposed to levying any taxes on the estate (39%).   

The research was commissioned ahead of the Budget after recent comments, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, that the cost of tax relief on pensions was “eye-wateringly expensive.”

Tilney says the pronouncement “raised the spectre of cuts to the annual contribution limits on pensions, another area that could see tinkering are the allowances around gifting and Inheritance Tax.”

Commenting on the findings, Ian Dyall, head of estate planning at Tilney, said: “The Chancellor announced at the beginning of the year that he had asked the Office of Tax Simplification to conduct a major review of Inheritance Tax (IHT) including looking at gifting allowances.

“While I always welcome the principle of simplification, too often it leads to a new tax regime, and with Mr Hammond running out of options to generate funds for public service spending commitments, I fear next week’s Budget could turn the screw on taxing estates on death.

“The figures from our survey suggest that any moves to increase IHT receipts under the cover of ‘simplification’ will be an extremely unwelcome decision.

“Nearly half of the public already think we should not be paying any tax upon death whatsoever, and those who believe such taxes are necessary, feel the nil rate band – which has been frozen at the current level for a decade – kicks in at far too low a level.

“Rising property prices and strong investment returns over the last decade mean more and more people are getting drawn into the net of Inheritance Tax.”

He added: “We can only wait and see what the Chancellor has up his sleeve.

“As lifetime gifts and inheritances have a huge role to play in helping address the growing generational wealth gap, we can only hope he does not choose to see this review as a fund-raising exercise for HM Treasury but rather as an opportunity to encourage assets to cascade more easily between the generations.”