Badenoch pledges to scrap inheritance tax on family homes if Conservatives win power
Britain’s Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch pledged to exempt family homes from inheritance tax and let couples pass on an additional £1 million tax-free if her party wins power.
London, United Kingdom. Britain’s opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch pledged on Wednesday to abolish inheritance tax on family homes and allow couples to pass on an additional £1 million without paying the levy if her party wins power.
Tax cuts at the centre of conference speech
Speaking on the final day of the Conservative Party conference, Badenoch put tax cuts and economic growth at the centre of her speech. She described the next election as a “battle for the soul of this nation” and contrasted her economic vision with that of the governing Labour Party.
Badenoch said she would like to abolish inheritance tax entirely when the government can afford to do so. The tax is currently charged at 40% on an estate’s value above £325,000, or above £500,000 if a home is left to a direct descendant.
“I believe the people who work hard and save should be rewarded for that effort,” she said.
Popularity and revenue implications
Polling suggests that reducing or abolishing inheritance tax would be broadly popular. It is regularly identified in polls as Britain’s most disliked levy, although only about 5% of wealthy estates pay it.
At its current level, the tax is expected to raise about £14.7 billion by 2030/2031, according to research by the House of Commons. Rising property prices, particularly in London, mean a greater proportion of people are becoming liable to pay it.
Work to restore trust
The Conservative Party, which has spent more time governing Britain than any other party, is now third in opinion polls after years of political turmoil and internal divisions following the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
Badenoch presented herself as a champion of lower taxes and government spending, contrasting her approach with the state-directed economic plans of Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s Labour Party.
She said Burnham’s policies would make Britain “poorer” and accused him of wanting to spend “money we don’t have on things we can’t afford”.
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