IHT gifts

I wonder if anyone has experience of the following scenario: Having supplied The Revenue with bank statements for the last 7 years of the deceased's life, they are asking the executor to supply details of certain outgoing amounts from her late father's account. She has no idea what they represent, only that they weren't gifts to friends or family. I suspect The Revenue may take the view that, unless she can prove otherwise, they will treat them as gifts and levy the appropriate tax. So a) Are they entitled to do that? Is the burden of proof always on the taxpayer? Is there legislation I could read up on? b) How easy would it be in practice for the deceased's bank to name the payee for a 7 year old cheque? c) If they could only track it as far as the recipient's bank, would they necessarily release the account details? d) Who decides whether an amount paid to an unknown individual constitutes a gift? It could have been for services rendered. Ahem. Then I suppose he should have got a receipt. e) Can the beneficiary of an estate be expected to suffer because the deceased didn't keep proper accounts? Lots of grey areas I expect, but any views welcome. Probably a lot of secrets and lies only come to light thanks to the diligence of The Capital taxes Office. Bless them.

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stuart noble
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