Almost eight out of ten people claimed the tax was grossly unfair and more than six out of ten (64 per cent) questioned in the poll said they should have the right to pass on the total value of their main abode to a beneficiary without paying tax.
Inheritance tax is currently paid above the threshold at a flat rate of 40 per cent, irrespective of how much wealth a person has. However almost eight out of ten people (76 per cent) think the current system should be reformed, preferring a banded system similar to income tax.
Less than one in ten of respondents said they had sought professional financial advice in order to minimise their family’s liability to pay inheritance tax in the event of their death.
Ian Jefferies, head of investment marketing at Friends Provident, said: “The majority of families will now find themselves drawn into the inheritance tax net because of the housing boom in recent years.
“That is why inheritance tax planning should be a key consideration for those families who until recently were not liable for this tax.”
Julian Wells, head of marketing at Mortgages plc, commented: “These results come as no surprise. It is a commonly held view, especially within the mortgage industry, that inheritance tax has not kept in line with house price inflation.”
Friends Provident has introduced the Discounted Gift Plan as a way of helping families to reduce the value of their estates for inheritance tax purposes.
