Irish Examiner view: Rejecting hike an issue of fairness

Inheritance tax

It had been reported that the Commission on Taxation was in favour of a substantial reduction in the amount of money children can inherit from their parents.

It was refreshing to see Taoiseach Micheál Martin reject the Commission on Taxation’s reported recommendations on reducing the amount of money parents can leave children tax-free — and to see reality acknowledged in doing so.

It had been reported that the commission was in favour of a substantial reduction in the amount of money children can inherit from their parents: Under the current capital acquisition tax rules, a child can inherit €335,000 from their parents before having to pay tax at 33%. (In 2009, the threshold was €542,544 before tax kicked in, with the rate at the time being 22%.)