If this were the case, then we wouldn't still have aristocrats. Inheritance tax doesn't apply at this scale. They just put it in trust, even though no one seriously pretends that they don't control the money.
E.g., the Grosvenors, who own 3% of London. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/11/inheritance-ta...
By using trusts does help highlight another aspect. The 'owners' are more like custodians of the estate, a historical institution to be kept running. Yes they do control it and clearly benefit from it but if you have a look at their spending and lifestyles compared to the new rich they are very different.
You can give any amount to your kids tax free ... if this is within 7 years of your death then Inheritance tax applies to amounts given over 3k per year (on a sliding scale). So works fine if you want to give away large amounts of assets long enough before you die.
If you want to give away property, then you have to make sure you don't continue living in the property rent-free for it to count for IHT.
As others have mentioned, serious estates just use trusts etc. instead.
http://www.money.co.uk/guides/gifting-money-to-your-children...
Re:Who Owns England?
by crdoconnor on Wednesday May 24, 2017 @04:15AM
(#14408338)
Tell that to the Duke of Westminster:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/aug/11/inheritance-ta...
IIRC, until relatively recently, it was more or less trivial for large estates to avoid most inheritance tax - put the property in a trust, and pass on the interest in the profit generated rather than the property per se.
I think the recent changes have made it more difficult to completely avoid inheritance tax, but a proper trust setup will drastically reduce it.
> So big land owners do get hammered trying to pass it on down generations.
Many can get tax relief as a "national heritage asset" by opening to the public [1].
[1]: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-relief-for-national-heritage...
All properly rich people avoid this by using trusts. Inheritance tax is just for the normal well off.
You can try and mitigate that by gifting to your children, but the tax free limit for that is only £3k per year and is still taxed if it's given less than 7 years before you die. Not really enough to do extensive property owners much good.