Reform has ruled out abolishing inheritance tax and branded the Tories ‘out of touch’ for considering it.
Robert Jenrick, Reform’s pick for Chancellor, admitted the 40 per cent levy on deceased people’s estates is ‘unfair’ and ‘very unpopular’ but said it ‘doesn’t raise very much money’.
He said Reform would not match a plan being considered by the Tories to scrap it, calling it ‘morally wrong’ to prioritise cutting taxes for the ‘super-rich’ in a cost of living crisis.
As revealed by The Mail on Sunday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch may unveil the major policy of abolishing inheritance tax at the party’s annual conference next month.
It would echo a similar pledge by Shadow Chancellor George Osborne in 2007 which was credited with deterring Prime Minister Gordon Brown from calling a snap election.
Conservative sources insist the tax cut is still under discussion and will only be confirmed if it can be fully costed.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat said: ‘Kemi’s not going to be announcing anything until conference.’ A party spokesman added: ‘Kemi has made no secret of her desire to cut taxes, singling out inheritance tax as one of those she wants to cut in a speech last week.’
But Mr Jenrick said he would not scrap inheritance tax, which is only paid by about 30,000 estates worth more than £325,000.
Robert Jenrick said Reform would not match a plan being considered by the Tories to abolish inheritance tax
He told Sky News: ‘I find it as unfair as the next person. It’s a very unpopular tax. It doesn’t raise very much but causes a huge amount of damage to family farms and businesses.’
But he said there would be a ‘big divide in British politics’ if Mrs Badenoch focuses on cutting taxes for a small number of people, while Reform instead vows to increase the personal allowance so that workers earning less than £15,000 and pensioners are spared paying income tax.
‘That’s the big difference,’ he said. ‘If you ask are we in hock to wealthy people? No, absolutely not, because we’re not reducing taxes for the super-rich, for big businesses, for Belgravia. We are on the side of working people.’
Told scrapping inheritance tax would be a popular policy, he insisted: ‘I think it’s very out of touch, actually. And also it’s not going to happen.’
He highlighted Mr Osborne’s pledge, which was never implemented, adding: ‘We’ve heard this before, but it’s a big divide now in British politics.
‘Are you on the side of the wealthy or of the workers? We’re on the side of workers.’
He added: ‘I thought that it would be morally wrong as Chancellor, in a time of such straitened circumstances, to privilege a small number of households over the lowest income people in our country.’
You must be logged in to post a comment Login