Finance Bill

It is to do with encouraging stable relationships. Historically, although not so much today, that issue revolved around children, whether in respect of procreation or the change in the wording that we now have. The same imperative does not apply to siblings. I stand to be corrected, but I take it that when we are talking about siblings in this context, we generally mean blood siblings or, because of the 10-year thing, foster siblings who have had a long-standing relationship. We are generally thinking of older people who have chosen to live together, such as Sybil and Joyce Burden. There is not the same social imperative to have a tax regime to bolster that kind of relationship, desirable as it may be for people to live in stable relationships. As the hon. Member for South-West Hertfordshire (Mr. Gauke) said, we have to ask where we draw the line. Do we take it to cousins—blood relatives who have chosen to live under the same roof together for many years and do so until one of them dies? Do we take it to people who are best friends, albeit platonic? Carers have been mentioned. My initial reaction is that we might like to consider including those who care for elderly parents, because I regard it as desirable to encourage adult offspring to do that. However, when one of the parents died, if they were married or in a civil partnership the property would pass with no inheritance tax to the surviving parent, who would probably still need looking after. When the second parent died, it would not seem quite the same, although it could appear that way to the carer, who would then have to move out of what they regarded as their family home. My right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead mentioned deferred tax. As I understand it, it is not just a question of that. We are talking about exemptions, as we have seen with the provisions introduced in the Bill on retrospective transferable allowances between spouses. I declare an indirect interest in that my mother, who has been widowed for 19 years, inherited the whole estate without paying inheritance tax, and that doubling up will affect what she passes on to her children. It is not just a question of deferred tax but of less tax being paid. The mere fact that less tax is paid is not a reason to walk away from something if the principle is right, but I am not sure that it is. The 10-year transition period to which the hon. Member for South-West Hertfordshire referred is an option that could be used. However, I am not so sure about equity release schemes, which are not necessarily something that we want to encourage. Although there can be good schemes offered by reputable financial institutions, there are a lot of horror stories about sharks.