Death charges are barking mad

INHERITANCE tax aside, the Government doesn’t profit much when we eventually shuffle off this mortal coil and our funerals need to be arranged by loved ones.

As a result, the funeral director’s costs (covering everything from the coffin through to the hearse) and the bill for the cremation (or burial) are all VAT exempt – as are death certificates and the fees payable for the church service.

Yet there are some baffling anomalies. For example, pet lovers have to pay 20 per cent VAT if they want their recently departed dog or cat to be buried or cremated. Why? Barking mad, I say – many people I know grieved more over their departed pet than they did over their former partner. Similarly, it seems rather cruel that someone paying for the publication of a death notice in a local or national newspaper must pay VAT on the bill.

The tax is also charged if a loved one wants to purchase a headstone or memorial plaque that they can subsequently visit and pay their respects to (my dad’s memorial plaque in the gardens of Sutton Coldfield Crematorium on the outskirts of Birmingham is a must-go-to whenever I visit my mum).

Why these random death charges? It all seems so cruel and unfeeling. I know times are hard and the Government is scrambling around for every penny it can grab in tax, but time, methinks, for a rethink.