Same-sex partners fight for inheritance tax rights
Partners involved in same-sex relationships in the UK have gone to court to fight for the same inheritance tax rights as married couples.
The Telegraph reports lawyers representing several same-sex partners have filed for probate or permission from HM Revenue & Customs to distribute a deceased person\'s assets seeking the same tax exemption available to married couples. All transfers between spouses are exempt from such tax, which is levied at a fixed rate of 40% on estates that is, assets less liabilities exceeding £275 000. A lawyer said that since the Human Rights Act came into force in the UK in October 2000, gay couples should have been taxed in the same way as married couples. Full report in The Telegraph