§ Mr. Raynsfordasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue at outturn prices for the current year if inheritance tax was applied to housing at current tax rates but with a threshold of nil.
§ Mr. Norman LamontInheritance tax applies to all assets, including housing, where the cumulative total of chargeable transfers exceeds £71,000. If, instead of being366W charged to inheritance tax, housing were charged separately at the current tax rates and bands, with a nil threshold, but with the existing exemption for transfers to a surviving spouse, the additional net yield arising from transfers in 1986–87 is estimated at about £1,000 million. There would be around 100,000 more taxpayers. These estimates make no allowance for the effect of the proposal on the housing market.