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Letter to the Oxford Times - Universal inheritance
#1
The wealthiest person in our country owns about £15,000,000,000.  In the next generation heirs will again inherit unearned billions tax-free thanks to current exemptions and reliefs for land and business assets, while other people inherit no capital at all.  This threatens the broad prosperity and stability of our country. A year or two ago, one young man, the Duke of Westminster, inherited £9,000,000,000 at the age of 26.
 
In order to start to reduce inequality of ownership and wealth, increase opportunity, help repay student loans and reduce poverty, every UK citizen with a UK citizen parent should receive a basic minimum UK Universal Inheritance  (UKUI) - or Universal Basic Inheritance (UBI) - at the age of 25.  It should start modestly at £5,000 but increase over the years, financed by increased taxation of larger fortunes inherited from previous generations.  UK Universal Inheritance is the party policy of the real UK Liberal Party, whose constitution traditionally calls for liberty, property and security for all.
 
Thanks to exemptions, total Inheritance Tax annual revenue is currently a mere £5,000,000,000, reducing total wealth of UK citizens from £10,000,000,000,000 all the way down to £9,995,000,000,000!  A new Accessions Tax, charged at progressive rates on cumulative lifetime total receipts by beneficiaries, should be introduced, without current unlimited land and business asset exemptions and reliefs.  At the same time the rate of Inheritance Tax, charged on what is given and bequeathed by donors, should be significantly reduced, except for giving to non-UK tax payers.  The Accessions Tax will encourage the wider spread of giving and at the same time claw back the universal amount from more fortunate beneficiaries.
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