Inheritance Tax ! is it fair ?

I was driving back from work yesterday evening. As usual I was listening to my favorite radio station LBC. And it was the Drive Time hosted by none other than Ian Dale.

Well topic under the discussion was " Should inheritance tax be scrapped or not ? " this was a topic that is very interesting to me.

Why you may ask ?

Well I am in my late fifties and has been very careful in my life with the help of my wife and has saved some for our rainy day and had our aim firmly fixed to move to a house where we are happy and would not move  from there.

Surprise, surprise we found such a property only about twelve years ago. I make it I was then in my late forties. Why you may ask it took to come to that age to find a property that we would like to settle in ?

Well person in a normal employment it is a slow process for anyone to attain a status to afford such a property.

Well being a first generation immigrant who has not inherited a penny from anyone else naturally it would take a long time.

Well this is where I go back to the program that I was listening. A gentleman who was a tax expert came on the radio and argue the fact that it is fair that people who has property above a certain threshold pay inheritance tax.

This was against a question put by Mr,Ian Dale that why people should pay tax again on the first instance they have already paid tax towards buying the property in addition to paying tax while they earn and save to buy that property.

Well following the tax expert there was another gentleman who came up with nice children storey
about squirrels collecting nuts for winter. I suppose you are wondering where ids this leading to
Quiet a few of you would have already heard this story. Apparently there were two squirrels   One was busily collecting nuts for the coming winter while the other one was spending his time with other squirrels playing away.

Hard winter came the squirrel that put away the nuts for the winter was sitting inside his nest and feeding himself with the nuts he saved for himself while the other one was out in the cold trying to find food for itself.
The squirrel that saved called the other one in and gave some of his nuts and advised him to save when he can.

What is the moral of the storey you may ask. Of course it is that saving in time helps when you are not able to work as you were.

The interesting thing was that the person who came on the  radio who said this story to stress his point that listening to the previous tax experts argument who was insisting that it is the people who have should look after the have nots sounded like the following ,

The squirrel that did not save the nuts for winter came kicking the door of the squirrel who saved for the winter and said " you have more than you need " and took half of his nuts.

Well what a good comparison I thought. Quiet elegantly yet very simply explained what I was thinking. You work hard all your working life and skimp and save for something you strive for while some people you know do not give a hoot about the future and spend all they earn.

later on in the life you are taxed on the property you leave behind to your off springs in order to help the off springs of the people who lived lavishly beyond their means.

Well how is this Fair ! thought ?

Someone could call this "social justice" ! is it ?

Well you tell me ! ! !

Sakthi Saklthithasan

Oh yes I am an immigrant ! Am I ?

Back to the old drawing board !

Another season of party conferences is coming to an end ! Oh this is autumn is it not ? the green leaves of the trees are also nearing their seasonal end.

I  cannot believe how quick five years has flown past by. Yes ! another General Election is looming in front of our eyes.

Quiet a lot of times I ask myself as a first generation immigrant what are my expectations from these elections. Then the million dollar question follows am I fully engaging myself with this election ? Or is it a simple case of it does not matter who wins as long as I am alright ?

Well if this question need to be answered properly we need to have genuine deep cleansing of our thoughts.

Whether I like it or not the fact is General Election and the results do matter to me .

Why?

because this is my country the place I am living and the surrounding are my lively hood and everything that affects the stability and the security does matter to me.

The needs of me has changed over the years. The political views and leanings that I had when I first arrived here has changed over the years .

Why you may ask ?

When I first arrived in this country I was a young 18 year old student now I am a 58 year old father with a married son.

There is a vast difference of my needs then and now naturally I have grown in my opinion towards the life over the years. Hence my political views have changed as well.

Then a Labour party supporter but now ? I am not sure.

I may even sound a bit hypocrite saying that at times I see even UKIP reflects some of my views now.

I see some may mutter that people like me have a special name "Bounty" brown outside and white inside. Well I am sorry to disappoint you guys .

I am not at all that way. I am proud to call myself British

why ?

this country is the country which gave great opportunities to me that did not depend upon my race or culture. Treated me equally and encouraged me to lift myself.

It is my duty to integrate myself in the political process as a true citizen.

What troubles me is the party that I supported then does not allow me to support them now .

Why ? a big question may arise.

With lot of aspiration and lot of hard work  I have elevated myself and pushed myself into the Middle class band but why I feel that the party I supported then is looking at me and saying Hey you are better than most so we have to tax you more , we have to put you in the same bracket of someone who has inherited wealth ?

While lot of people who were in the same situation as me did not worry about tomorrow did not worry about a rainy day.

we as a family did go without lot of comforts and sacrificed a lot so that we do not depend on the state when we are old.

But  now we are classified as someone who have and expected to carry the burden of have nots at the same level as someone who has been rich for generations.

Please do not jump into conclusions that I am against government looking after the people who genuinely need help and understand that I need to contribute fairly towards that.

But what is the word again " fairly "

Well it is strange ! but voting in this general election will be a long thinking process for me .

Oh yes I am an immigrant ! Am I ?

Sakthi Sakthithasan