This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament
Rejected petition Scrap the proposed changes to Probate Court Fees
The current fee is £155. The government is proposing a ‘scale fee’ based on the value of estates:
£50k - £300k = £300
£300k - £500k = £1000
£500k - £1M = £4000
£1M - £1.6M = £8000
£1.6M - £2M = £12000
£2M+ = £20000
Some tax payers may feel the proposed fees are unreasonable & unfair.
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The value of the estate should not have any bearing on the court fees, and bereaved family members already bear Inheritance Tax at a rate of 40%.
The government suggests that the increased revenue generated will go towards the maintenance costs of the courts, but surely these funds should be raised from litigation-based legal areas rather than the probate procedure, which is not voluntary and does not require significant amounts of the court's time, or even presence in the court.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
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https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/122314
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