A leading accountancy firm has called for a reform of the inheritance tax system to be launched by the coalition government as it is no longer fair.

According to a poll by Grant Thornton, the majority of homeowners believe the current rules are unfair and in need of an overhaul, reports the Cambridge News.

Some 86 per cent of the respondents stated the main family home should be exempt from inheritance tax payments.

Stuart Maggs, senior tax manager at Grant Thornton East Anglia, said: "What started off as a fairly straightforward system introduced in 1986 has now become a complex maze of traps for the unwary."

Plans were recently discussed in the House of Lords regarding potential changes to inheritance tax, with Mark Giddens of national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young claiming all sections of society can be caught out by the current rules, reported This is Money.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Lord Eatwell suggested charging the tax to individuals rather than on an estate as a fairer method.