Sisters challenge inheritance tax rules
13 Sep 06
Elderly pair sharing house want to be treated as equal to married or same-sex couples
Two sisters who live together are challenging the UK's inheritance tax laws, which they claim breach their human rights by denying them the same exemption granted to married or same-sex couples.
The two - Joyce and Sybil Burden - are in their eighties and have lived together in Marlborough, Wiltshire, all of their lives. They fear that when one dies, the other will be forced to sell their jointly-owned home, currently valued at £875,000, to pay inheritance tax, which at present rates would be payable on 40% the part of an estate above the £285,000 threshold.
Yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg held a hearing to decide on the merits of taking the case forward. The sisters' lawyers argue that unmarried sisters living together for as long as they have should get the same treatment as spouses and civil partners.