After a Labour government was elected last week the Law society has congratulated the new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for their victory and others in the sector have proposed Inheritance Tax (IHT) reconsideration.
A ‘re-think’ on IHT has been put forward to labour, with a suggestion of ‘increasing rates for larger estates’.
Chris Lloyd-Smith, partner in the private legal services team at law firm, Anthony Collins, said:
“The new Labour Government should maintain the current system for IHT and reconsider increasing rates for larger estates and/or the reform on reliefs that can be claimed. Without reliefs, the death of a business owner could mean the end of a family-run business and could have other wide-ranging implications. We urge the new Government to ensure that any decisions are fully costed and are made in consultation with the Office for Budget Responsibility and practitioners in the field.”
Nick Emmerson President of the Law Society of England and Wales, has congratulated the Labour Party for their landslide election victory saying:
“This election result marks a new chapter for the UK and we look forward to working with the new government to strengthen our justice system. Elections are a testament to our vibrant democracy. However, it is essential to remember that true democracy cannot exist without a robust justice system, a justice system that has faced decades of underinvestment.
“The new government must prioritise making our justice system a source of national pride and harness the economic power of legal services that contribute £60 billion annually to the UK economy and is one of our most valuable exports.”
One Response
The President of The Law Society should try to remember that its purpose is to represent the interests of its members (i.e. solicitors), not to “strengthen the justice system” which is arguably the government of the day’s job. In the 30 years I have been practising as a solicitor I don’t feel that The Law Society represents our interests well or at all. They appear to be out of touch with the everyday problems some of us face (such as the huge amount of AML that is not only time consuming but erodes the client- solicitor relationship. Well done Law Society, I wish there was another professional body we could join instead….