UK on course to waste £1.6 billion on inheritance tax this year

Confidentially search for details of an independent financial tax advisor close to where you live or work from around 9,000 IFA locations UK-wide.

Annual research* by IFA Promotion (IFAP), the organisation promoting the benefits of independent financial advice, shows that UK adults will waste a massive £1.6 billion through poor inheritance tax planning this year - £400 million more than last year. And with a recent report by Lombard Street and Grant Thornton forecasting 3.6 million UK estates will be liable for IHT by 2009, this waste looks set to keep growing unless people take action to reduce it.

With this in mind, IFAP has produced a free guide which covers the following areas:

• What exactly is Inheritance Tax?
• Inheritance Tax Planning, including writing a will and alternative investments
• How an estate is distributed

David Elms, Chief Executive of IFA Promotion, commented; “People need to be aware that the IHT threshold has failed to rise in line with soaring property prices over the last few years and that you don’t have to be rich to be subject to inheritance tax. It’s vital that people seek out advice from an independent financial adviser, so they can make informed decisions when it comes to IHT planning and avoid wasting their precious inheritance unnecessarily.”

For a free copy of the guide, together with details of specialist independent financial advisers (IFAs) who can advise on your IHT options, call the IFA Promotion consumer hotline on 0800 085 3250 or visit www.taketaxaction.co.uk

For further information please contact:

David Elms                                                Chloe Mann / Holly Godden

Chief Executive                                          Lansons Communications

IFA Promotion                                            020 7294 3681 / 020 7294 3674

020 7833 3131

*Tax Action 2005 report, RAKM for IFA Promotion

    For expert comment or case studies from over 200 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should call IFA Promotion’s Media Services hotline on 020 7294 3682 or search online in ‘Media Services’ at www.unbiased.co.uk

1.  Independent Financial Adviser Promotion

IFA Promotion was established in 1989 to promote the value and accessibility of independent financial advice to the public.  It represents around 9,000 firms of independent financial advisers across the UK and is sponsored by 31 leading financial institutions. In the past 12 months, over 530,000 consumers and businesses used IFA Promotion to find local independent financial advice.

IFA Promotion believes Independent financial advice should be:

• Affordable.  The option to take independent financial advice should be available, by right, to all - not just the wealthiest in society.
• Convenient.  IFAs should be available in the location of the consumer’s choice, wherever they live in the UK.
• Transparent.  It must be clearly transparent to consumers who is able to offer independent financial advice and who is not.

2.      Independent Financial Adviser Promotion’s sponsors

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