Rishi Sunak has been accused of a “desperate” briefing on inheritance tax (IHT) after reports suggested it would be slashed ahead of the next election.
It comes as the government confirmed the date of the next spring budget, which will be delivered on 6 March.
With a general election looming next year, Mr Sunak will be under pressure from Tory MPs to announce tax cuts to boost their chances of victory.
On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph reported that Downing Street is considering axing IHT as part of a “gear change” on tax, having made halving inflation rather than reducing the tax burden a priority of his premiership.
However, Labour rubbished the story as a “desperate briefing from a desperate prime minister who is spending his Christmas break trying to keep Tory MPs on side”.
James Murray, Labour’s shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said: “There have been 25 Tory tax rises since the last election.
“Now at a time when families across Britain are struggling with the cost of living and our NHS is on its knees, Rishi Sunak is trying to buy off his backbenchers with an unfunded tax cut for millionaires.”
Inheritance tax is hated by many Conservative MPs and there has long been briefings it could be scrapped.
The prospect is often raised when the party is facing political difficulty, with similar reports emerging back in July ahead of three by-elections the Tories were predicted to lose. (In the end, they lost two out of three).
The Telegraph, which is campaigning to abolish IHT, said scrapping it is one of a handful of major tax cuts that have been discussed by senior figures in Number 10.
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2023-12-27 11:46:00
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