Tuesday March 25, 10:44 AM
Billions wasted on unnecessary taxes
By Kate O'Raghallaigh
UK adults will spend a combined £9.3bn on unnecessary tax charges in 2008, according to research from online IFA directory Unbiased.
The websites Tax Action report found that unnecessary Inheritance Tax (IHT) payments will rise by more than
£360m in 2008, amounting to a predicted total waste of over £1.9bn. The report also revealed IHT is the most resented tax for 20% of UK adults. A further £474m will be wasted on personal tax allowances.
Despite 34 million UK adults saying they are unhappy with the current UK tax system, 82% said they are not doing anything to reduce their tax burden.
David Elms, chief executive of Unbiased, said: UK taxpayers are wasting record sums in unnecessary tax payments. And our report shows that 2008 will be no different. We estimate that each UK taxpayer will waste an average of over £290 in tax payments this year.
We have seen a lot of talk about stealth taxes and IHT but our figures prove that it hasnt changed the way people deal with this tax and too much money is still being wasted and practically gifted to the taxman. This is a somewhat surprising result, given the large amount of people who are dissatisfied with the current tax system.
Unbiased has recommended a number of ways to stop wasting unnecessary money on taxes. These include using up the annual ISA allowance, planning inheritance and, for parents, setting up a trust fund for their children.
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