New data reveals that thousands more families across the UK are being subjected to inheritance tax (IHT), with some regions seeing a surge of nearly 35 per cent in the number of estates liable within the last two years.
Over the course of 2020/21 to 2022/23, multiple estates witnessed a sharp rise in every single English region.
The largest of these came in the South West, up by a staggering 34.81 per cent, according to research by the Taxpayers' Alliance.
Both Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands are above the 20 per cent mark, with Yorkshire and the Humber rising by 25.86 per cent and the East Midlands at 21.48 per cent, respectively.
TaxPayers' Alliance
|Region by region, which areas pays the most inheritance tax
These rises come despite many of the impacted areas having lower property values, meaning IHT is not only affecting the wealthy.
Several family homes could now be pushed over the threshold, as properties over £325,000 could push estates over the benchmark, which has been frozen since 2009 and will not unfreeze until 2030.
Nearly 4,000 more estates are now liable for IHT, an increase of 13 per cent.
As Rachel Reeves looks to try and plug the £50billion black hole, it's feared that many more estates could fall into the IHT trap.
Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Taxpayers are suffering year after year as frozen inheritance tax thresholds and rising house prices are forcing more grieving families to pay the death duty.
"The tax, born of envy and contempt, will continue to have less effect on the ultra wealthy while hammering those who have worked hard and simply want to pass something on to the next generation.
"The answer is clear, inheritance tax must be scrapped."
A total of 31,500 estates were taxed between 2022/23, with the number expected to rise.
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The TaxPayers' Alliance have called for the abolition of IHT