4.34 Lastly, death duties. The Government
will introduce a new relief in estate duty for deaths
in quick succession. When individuals die within a short
period of time of each other, and the assets pass from
one to another, these assets are currently taxed on
each death. This is an added burden on bereaved families.
For deaths from 1 Jan 2006, the Government will allow
the estate duty paid on the earlier death to be deducted
from the estate duty payable on the same assets assessed
in the beneficiaries' subsequent deaths. The relief
will start at 100% if the deaths occur within six months
of each other, graduating to the full estate duty payable
if the deaths are more than two years apart.
Table 2: Estate duty relief for deaths in quick
succession
