Oct 2 2007
The Conservative Party has pledged to raise the threshold for inheritance tax if it wins the next general election.
Addressing his party at the Conservatives' conference this week, the shadow chancellor George Osborne revealed that he wants to ensure that only people whose estate is worth more than £1 million are liable to inheritance tax.
Mr Osborne insisted that the plans would "take the family home out of inheritance tax" and suggested that the raising of the threshold would mean parents were not punished for wanting to ensure their children had a solid start to their financial lives.
He said: "In a Conservative Britain, nine million families will benefit. In a Conservative Britain, only millionaires will pay death duties.
"In a Conservative Britain, you will not be punished for working hard and saving hard. You will not be penalised for wanting a better life for your children."
Earlier this year, a policy group led by John Redwood MP advised the Conservatives to abolish inheritance tax entirely, which chancellor Alistair Darling suggested would represent a "lurch to the right" of the political spectrum.
