page_title: History of inheritance taxes in the United Kingdom
section_title: Estate duty (1949-1975)
hierarchical_section_title: History of inheritance taxes in the United Kingdom / Estate duty (1949-1975)
caption_attribution_description: Stafford Cripps
context_page_description: The history of inheritance taxes in the United Kingdom has undergone significant change and mutation since their original introduction in 1694.
context_section_description: The complexity and unfairness in how the duties were applied was discussed by Stafford Cripps in his 1949 Budget speech:
  Accordingly, legacy duty and succession duty were abolished by the Finance Act 1949, followed by the repeal of corporation duty by the Finance Act 1959. The three-year period for gifts made prior to death was extended to five years by the Finance Act 1946, and then to seven years by the Finance Act 1969.
  Estate duty became more progressive in scale, eventually peaking in 1969 with the highest marginal rate fixed at 85% of amounts in excess of £750,000, provided that total duty did not exceed 80% of the value of the total estate.
caption: Stafford Cripps, who abolished the legacy and succession duties in 1949
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