Tories to scrap inheritance tax in ‘one big throw of the dice’, George Osborne says
Asked then whether or not chopping dying duties was a precedence, he advised The Telegraph: “I hope it’s something that over time a Conservative government would be able to look at.”
Mr Osborne stated that he believed that inheritance tax had “a particular purchase in politics way beyond the numbers of people directly affected each year”.
He advised the podcast: “Partly because for every estate that pays inheritance tax, there are quite a lot of individuals who benefit from that, different children and grandchildren, and because of rising house prices, lots of people think they’re going to be in the inheritance tax net in the future, so sometimes the numbers are a bit misleading.”
He added: “It also is a much-hated tax, so it’s a very potent weapon for the Conservatives, and I think there will be loads of pressure so try something big.”
However, the former chancellor issued a warning to the Tories that “you can’t fatten the pig on market day”, including that he was “sceptical” such an announcement given their present standing in the polls would “dramatically change the weather”.
“But I might be, as a Conservative party member, pleasantly surprised,” he added.
