Rishi Sunak has delayed a ban on new petrol and diesel cars in a major change to the government’s approach to achieving net zero by 2050.
The prime minister announced exemptions and delays to several key green policies, alongside a 50% increase in cash incentives to replace gas boilers.
The government could not impose “unacceptable costs” linked to reducing emissions on British families, he said.
It’s prompted fierce criticism from the opposition and some industry bosses.
Mr Sunak also faced attacks from his own party, but many Conservative MPs came out in favour of the new direction, alongside some in the car industry.
The changes come as Mr Sunak seeks to create dividing lines with opposition parties ahead of a general election, expected next year.
Framing the changes as “pragmatic and proportionate”, the prime minister has unpicked several of Boris Johnson’s key policies, many of them launched when Mr Sunak was serving as chancellor.
Among the key changes announced were:
A five-year delay in the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, meaning a requirement for all new cars to be “zero emission” will not come into force until 2035
A nine-year delay in the ban on new fossil fuel heating for off-gas-grid homes to 2035
Raising the Boiler Upgrade Grant by 50% to £7,500 to help households who want to replace their gas boilers
The ban on the sale of new gas boilers in 2035 remains, but the government will introduce new exemption for poorer households
Scrapping the requirement on landlords to ensure all rental properties had a Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of grade C or higher, from 2025.
Sunak stays with the stakeholders - there’s no money to be made with the masses …
The government’s energy efficiency taskforce has quietly been disbanded and comes after Rishi Sunak scrapped energy efficiency regulations for landlords in an overhaul of green policies.
The UK is often described as having some of the oldest and least energy efficient housing in Europe. Improving energy efficiency is seen as a key way to get household bills down and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The taskforce was set up in March to speed up home insulation and boiler upgrades.
No reason given but, presumably, a government cost-efficiency drive while keeping the coffers of the energy suppliers topped up …
At present, inheritance tax is charged at 40% for estates worth more than £325,000, with an extra £175,000 allowance towards a main residence if it is passed to children or grandchildren. A married couple can share their allowance, which means parents can pass on £1m to their children without any tax to pay.
Among the proposals under consideration is for Sunak to reduce the 40% rate in the budget in March, paving the way to abolish it in future years, the Sunday Times report said.
A senior government source said: “It’s the most hated tax at every income [level],” said the source. “People also feel it is just wrong to tax people on income that has already been taxed – and at a time when they are grieving.”
The latest figures, for the tax year 2020-21, showed only 3.73% of UK deaths resulted in an inheritance tax charge.
The Labour MP and shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said: “A year ago Liz Truss trashed the economy with unfunded tax cuts. Now Rishi Sunak is doing what Liz Truss wants. Abolishing inheritance tax – which 96% of people never pay – is an unfunded tax cut of £7.2bn per year. The biggest threat to the economy is the Conservative party.”
That is not true .
The rich don’t pay inheritance tax they can get around it quite easily by setting up trusts and giving away their wealth to their children while alive .
If you are a wealthy farmer you don’t pay in inheritance tax .
If you are mega rich ie King Charles you pay not a penny .
The poor also don’t pay inheritance tax .
Who pay inheritance tax are the middle and working classes whose major asset is their home . House prices have rocketed in that last 13 years during which the nil rate band of £325 k has remained frozen everything over this is taxed straight in at the ridiculous rate of 40 %.
Many countries do not have inheritance tax at all ie Australia and New Zealand . It is a tax on aspiration and is the most unfair and hated of taxes .
In the tax year 2020 to 2021, 3.73% of UK deaths resulted in an Inheritance Tax (IHT) charge, decreasing by 0.03 percentage points since the tax year 2019 to 2020. This means the proportion has been relatively flat since the tax year 2017 to 2018 - likely as a result of the introduction of a new tax-free allowance known as the Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB) from that year onwards. The RNRB is available to those estates that transfer their main UK residence to direct descendants on their death.
The total number of UK deaths that resulted in an IHT charge has increased. In the tax year 2020 to 2021, there were 27,000 taxpaying IHT estates, an increase of 4,000 (17%) since the previous tax year, 2019 to 2020.
One of the reasons that the tax has such a bad reputation is that the wealthy are paying far more in IHT than the very wealthy. However, this is simply down to the general unwillingness to plan. A 2016 Canada Life survey found that only 26% of the wealthy people they questioned had sought professional estate planning advice.
The survey found that the estate planning techniques discussed above, frequently used by the UK’s richest people, are being actively rejected by those who are ‘just wealthy.’ Some 47% of those questioned said they had ‘no intentions’ of taking out life insurance as part of their tax planning and 40% said the same of setting up a trust. It’s no great surprise, then, that those with estates worth £2-£3million bear the brunt of the IHT bill each year.
There are several reasons why so few wealthy people contemplate estate planning in the same way the very wealthy do. One reason is that they expect estate planning to be complicated and time consuming, which isn’t the case. Another is that they have never obtained financial advice and are therefore simply ignorant to the options available to them.
I don’t know where you live but in the south houses even tiny modest ones generally exceed the £325 k nil rate balance .
You can’t estate plan if your major asset is the place where you live .
It’s also unfair on certain people .
Ie two unmarried sisters living in the same house cannot pass it to each other .tax free . So when one dies the other who may have no other assets has to seek her home in order to pay the government .
A single childless person cannot pass their family home to a nephew tax free .
It’s easy for you to call people ignorant . They are not ignorant but the government has conspired against them ,
As that ghastly make up women said
Only little people pay taxes .
It is possible to claim your deceased spouse allowance k325 making a total k650 tax free , has to be a marriage or civil partnership. However this doesn’t t help property sharing siblings
Well, if we take your 7 billion and divide it by the number of “payees”, which, allowing for inflation, is more that 2021’s 27,000 (3.73%), so let’s say 30,000, the result is:
7,000,000,000 / 30,000 = 233,333.33
being the average amount of IHT paid, which, IMO, seems probable and is in line with other estimates:
The solution for “payees” is to take advice from financial consultants and avoid paying the tax. Once income from the tax approaches nil then the government will have to consider whether the cost of collection justifies the return.
Less Tax means worse Public Services, it really is that simple.
As regards Inheritance Tax, it is not as draconian as it seems.
Yes, there is a £325,000 threshold, however if you are leaving your house to a child, the Threshold is raised by £175,000, to £500,000.
As Ripple has said, couples can amalgamated their personal Thresholds, so you may be liable to pay some if your house is over £1 million.
In addition to your annual allowance for gifts, which is paltry. you can give away as much as you want out of your income if it does not affect your lifestyle.
