The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has welcomed the Chancellor’s increase of the inheritance tax threshold for the estates of married couples which was announced in the Government’s pre-budget statement.

Michael Coogan, CML director general, said: “With the estates of married couples now exempt up to £600,000, rising to £700,000 by 2010, the effect is broadly the same as if the Chancellor had fully indexed the inheritance tax threshold for the effect of house price movements since Labour came to power, which would have resulted in an exemption threshold of £608,600.”