Briefing Paper Do the public really oppose Inheritance Taxes?

Common wisdom decrees that inheritance taxes (IHT) are very unpopular among the public. These are taxes that are placed on transfers of wealth (alongside other taxes such as gift taxes). Public hostility seems puzzling because IHT usually apply only to the wealthiest estates. One might expect majority opinion to oppose abolition of IHT because this raises the prospect that government will raise the taxes they pay to compensate for the scrapping of IHT. Nevertheless, there seems to be popular support for abolition across different countries. This public opposition to IHT seems disproportionate to the amount they raise for the public purse. IHT in the G7 economies have not raised more than 1 % of national income over the past 40 years. Are public attitudes to IHT well understood? Gaining a fuller understanding of public opinion is timely as governments seek to rebalance tax systems after the financial crisis. Governments are exploring publically acceptable ways of raising money to fund public programmes. IHT is seen as a potential source of revenue for issues such as long-term care. Rational choice theory predicts that people might oppose IHT because of self-interest. This applies to those who expect to pay IHT or who are worried that their descendants will b