Legal Definitions - succession duty

Succession duty is a tax that is payable by the successor to real property, especially when the successor has not purchased the property for value but has succeeded to the property in some other way. For example, if a person inherits a house from their deceased relative, they may have to pay succession duty on the value of the property.

Another example of a similar tax is estate duty, which is a tax imposed on the principal value of all property that passed on death. In some countries, this tax has been replaced by inheritance tax, which is a tax on the transfer of property from a deceased person to their heirs.

These taxes are used by governments to raise revenue and to prevent the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few individuals. They are also used to encourage the transfer of property to the next generation and to prevent the hoarding of property by wealthy individuals.