Jack Chambers has suggested he will cut inheritance tax for nieces and nephews who inherit money from their aunts or uncles.
Currently, any one can inherit €400,000 from their parents - and in rare cases their grandparents - tax free. Any amount above that threshold is taxed at 33%.
However, if an aunt or uncle decides to gift or leave money in their will to a niece or nephew, they must pay Capital Acquisition Tax of 33% on any amount over €40,000.
The same threshold applies to siblings who gift or leave money to each other and most grandchildren who inherit money from their grandparents.
If you are unrelated to a person, only the first €20,000 of a gift or inheritance is taxfree.
However, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has said the Government will “absolutely” change the thresholds in the Budget.
“I think many listeners to your programme and others have worked hard for decades, [they] want to see adjustments made in different respective budgets,” he told The Claire Byrne Show.
“Look, we get a lot of feedback on category B, which is for people who don't have any children trying to and trying to give something to a niece or nephew.
“I don't think it's realistic to bridge the gap between Category A and Category B, but I do think looking at the bands is important across the different categories.
“Look, it's something that can only be done with a tax package of €1.5 billion.”
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers and Finance Minister Simon Harris. Picture by: Alamy.com.The Fianna Fáil TD said that any change would be “relatively moderate overall”, but promised the Government would “prioritise” the tax cut in the Budget.
He added that people who are “working hard” understandably “want to leave something for the next generation” and helping them is the “right thing to do”.
Supporters of inheritance tax argue that few people ever inherit enough money to pay it, meaning that only the richest in society benefit from increased thresholds.
Main image: Jack Chambers. Picture by: Liam Murphy/Alamy Live News.
