With the Chancellor threatening a ‘painful’ Budget on 30 October, concerns about possible hikes in inheritance tax (IHT) and capital gains tax (CGT) on estates are growing, warns Evelyn Partners.

But while inheritance tax is one of the most hated taxes, in the overall picture it does not raise vast sums for the Treasury so any reform would have to be radical, which is a problem for Rachel Reeves.

One option to raise tax take relatively fast would be to reform the capital gains at death ‘uplift’ rule.

Ian Dyall, head of estate planning at Evelyn Partners, said: ‘This is a relatively under-the-radar possibility that could well prove attractive to the Chancellor, as it could raise a decent amount even though the implications could take a while to sink in for many people.