Prime Minister David Cameron has said he supports reforming Inheritance Tax (IHT), arguing that the levy should only be paid by the richest in the land.<\/p>\n
Some Conservatives were disappointed that a commitment to raise the threshold did not feature in their leader\u2019s speech at the Tory Party Conference earlier this month.<\/p>\n
But they would have been cheered that he chose to broach the subject while visiting Age UK\u2019s London headquarters earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Mr Cameron said: \u201cTo me inheritance is a tax that should be a paid by the very wealthy. I think you should be able to pass a family home on to your children rather than leave it to the taxman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to see that go further because I think even at \u00a3650,000, particularly in some parts of the country, you can see someone who has worked hard, they have put money into their house, they have done it up to improve it, and they want to leave it to their children and they don\u2019t feel that they are in any way the mega-rich, and they feel: \u2018I should be able to do that without having 40 per cent of it knocked off\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was seven years ago that George Osborne electrified the party\u2019s conference by announcing a policy to raise the inheritance tax threshold to \u00a31m. The speech saw the Tories\u2019 poll ratings surge and forced Gordon Brown to abandon plans to call an early General Election.<\/p>\n
But senior Conservatives were acutely aware that the policy would be difficult to justify during times of austerity and the promise was quietly dropped when Mr Cameron entered a coalition with the Lib Dems in 2010.<\/p>\n
In recent years however, a growing number of backbenchers have called for the proposals to be put back on the agenda and so help the increasing number of middle earners who are now liable to pay the tax. They believe that reviving the commitment would prove hugely popular with traditional Tory voters and woo back some of those who have switched their allegiance to UKIP.<\/p>\n
Mr Cameron\u2019s comments will please those agitating for change, but the Prime Minister has warned that it may take time to introduce the policy. He said he would have to speak to Chancellor George Osborne about whether it would be possible to include the pledge in the General Election manifesto, or whether it would have to wait until the deficit had been dealt with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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