UK government considers scrapping inheritance tax, Times says

London: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is in talks about abolishing the UK’s inheritance tax ahead of the next general election, the Times reported, without saying how it got the information.

The newspaper said late Friday that there’s a “live” discussion among senior government figures about scrapping the unpopular levy next year.

The Telegraph, citing the Times’ report, said that neither Sunak’s office nor the Treasury denied that such talks were taking place when the newspaper asked them for comment.

The deteriorating economic picture in the UK has piled pressure on Sunak’s government to come up with a pre-election giveaway to boost his Conservative Party’s dwindling performance. A national vote is due by January 2025.

Bloomberg News reported in April that the prime minister was considering cutting the inheritance tax.

An Ipsos poll released on Friday found that 47 per cent of people questioned would vote for the opposition Labour Party in the next election, with just 25 per cent saying they intend to vote for the Conservatives. Ipsos surveyed 1,033 British adults June 14 to 20.

The inheritance tax impacts a relatively small number of higher-value estates. Its receipts are skewed toward wealthier households in the Conservatives’ stronghold of southern England, so a move to reduce or end the levy could boost the Tory voting base.