Kemi Badenoch to outline inheritance tax cuts in conference speech

Kemi Badenoch to outline inheritance tax cuts in conference speech The Tory leader has suggested that reducing inheritance tax would be ‘morally right’ - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Kemi Badenoch is said to be preparing to unveil cuts to inheritance tax in her major speech at the Conservative Party conference this week. The Tory leader suggested on Sunday that reducing inheritance tax would be "morally right", and is now reportedly set to place tax cuts at the heart of her address on Wednesday. A 40 per cent inheritance tax is currently charged on most estates valued over £325,000, or £500,000 on homes left to children. The threshold has been frozen for almost a decade, which has seen an increase of estates being considered above the cut off value. According to The Times, Mrs Badenoch is expected to announce either a cut to the 40 per cent rate or an increase to the threshold, in a bid to win back traditional Tory voters who have left the party in recent years. She is said to not be considering a complete abolition of the tax, and will reportedly cut the welfare bill in order to pay for part of the cuts. A spokesperson told The Times: “This is pure speculation. Kemi Badenoch has said multiple times that she would like to abolish inheritance tax, but she must find the savings first. That position hasn’t changed.” The Independent has contacted the Conservative Party. Speaking to The Sunday Times ahead of the Birmingham gathering, Mrs Badenoch was asked if she intended to scrap the tax entirely. She replied: "It is morally right that people don’t get taxed twice. It is morally right that if you work hard and want to give something to your children the government doesn’t take it away." Mrs Badenoch later added: "I am not going to announce tax cuts unless we can show how we pay for them… tax cuts are a good thing but you’ve got to be fiscally responsible." The stance comes amid a wave of policy pledges released ahead of the conference, as the party seeks to broaden its platform for government before the next general election. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith will unveil the party’s economic plans at the Tories’ annual conference in Birmingham on Monday as the party seeks to reverse its fortunes after suffering its worst ever electoral defeat in 2024. He confirmed both he and Ms Badenoch “ultimately” want to remove inheritance tax, but said the party would first need to ensure the move was funded. “There’s lots of things that we would like to do, but the job of chancellor is to make sure that those can be paid for,” he told Sky News. “We’re going to have a very difficult situation. We won’t be able to do everything that we want to do on day one.” Addressing the opening of the Conservative Party in Birmingham, the Tory leader said the Conservatives would “win the next election” as she unveiled a series of promises spanning welfare cuts, prison expansion and free childcare for higher-earning parents. She told party members in the hall: “When we win the next election, and we will, we are going to need to hit the ground running. We will need to be ready from day one having already shown people what kind of government we are going to be.” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments [Image text:] STRONGER ECONOMY