Schedule 4
Finance Bill
4:30 pm
Jane Kennedy (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; Liverpool, Wavertree, Labour)
At the end of this morning’s sitting, I was responding to the debate on amendments Nos. 44, 45 and 46 and inviting those who are old enough and have served the House long enough to recall a similar amendment that was tabled in 1995. The Government of the day argued against that amendment in similar terms to those that I have been using
Amendment No. 46, however, is different in effect. It relates to the transfer of the nil-rate band from estates that were subject to the old estate duty regime. Under estate duty, a relief for transfers to a surviving spouse was available only from March 1972 onwards, so for deaths under estate duty, the balance of unused allowance from the deceased’s estate may be diminished. That outcome arises as a direct consequence of the legislation that was in place at that earlier time. The hon. Member for South-West Hertfordshire described a particular case in some detail, and I shall look into it. He referred also to a parliamentary question tabled by the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge.