The government's controversial plans to hike up probate fees bore the hallmark of a tax, says Elis Gomer
A cursory glance through the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ’s) press releases on the now defunct hike in probate fees demonstrates that the government was presenting the changes as ‘fair’ and ‘progressive’.
In particular, there was emphasis on the point that over half of estates would not pay any fee at all (58% of estates are worth below £50,000, the suggested lower limit) and on the fact that the new fees would increase with the value of the estate rather than being a flat fee.
The reality is that the proposals were anything but progressive. Dig deeper into the ministerial commentary and you will find the revelation that the main driver for these changes is that the MoJ has identified a ‘need’ for a new source of funding for the courts. Heaven forfend that we should view a functioning court system as a cornerstone of society and something worth funding in its own right. No, the ministerial rhetoric is that we must ‘reduce the burden on the taxpayer of running
