People can pass on estates of up to £1 million to their spouse or civil partner without paying any inheritance tax.
A number of millionaire Tory MPs, allied to former Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose ideas tanked the economy, want an end to inheritance tax.
Millionaire Nadhim Zahawi, who was sacked by Sunak over his own tax dealings, is leading the group of more than 50 Tory MPs, calling for an end to the tax. Opposition to inheritance tax is being coordinated by the Conservative Growth Group, which is closely allied to Truss.
The Tories claim that the number of homes included in the tax has more than doubled and that it hits hard working aspirational families.
Of course they completely overlook the fact that the tax affects only the richest 4% of families and brings in over £6bn of tax revenue.
Mega-rich former cabinet member Jacob Rees-Mogg and ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel are among the right-wingers demanding that inheritance tax is scrapped by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his Autumn statement later this year.
Writing in the Telegraph, Zahawi called the inheritance tax ‘morally wrong’. While he thinks it’s wrong to tax the rich, the Tories do very little to help ordinary families struggling as a result of the cost of living crisis.
It’s also worth pointing out that people can pass on estates of up to £1 million to their spouse or civil partner without paying any inheritance tax.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 117 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.