Thousands of additional bereaved families are going to be dragged into what is often dubbed Britain's most despised tax, as smaller cathedral cities and frequently disregarded northern towns become apparent hotbeds. A new study has exposed the stark consequences of static thresholds coupled with soaring property values, indicating that estates affected by Inheritance Tax (IHT) will surge by half within this decade.

Detractors argue that these factors, alongside changes to the so-called death tax, represent a covert assault on 'middle Britain', penalising hard-working, prudent savers with hefty tax demands for the mere act of bequeathing assets to their offspring.

Legal specialists at Irwin Mitchell, scrutinising HMRC data from 177,000 estates across all 121 UK postcode districts, have id

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