“Instead of offering real solutions, Reform is promising to rig the tax system further for a small minority of the country.”
Richard Tice has confirmed that Reform UK would abolish inheritance tax if it wins the next election.
Tice told right-wing newspaper The Telegraph that Reform would abolish the tax, claiming it is causing entrepreneurs to “flee Britain”.
The right-wing newspaper says that it is campaigning for inheritance tax to be abolished.
Multi-millionaire Reform leader Nigel Farage already mooted the idea in a speech to farmers in February. In the speech, he called for Labour’s tax on family farms to be scrapped and inheritance tax to be fully abolished.
Inheritance tax is paid on estates worth over £325,000, with the 40% tax only applying to wealth above this threshold.
Tax Justice UK pointed out that less than one in 20 people are wealthy enough to pay inheritance tax.
Caitlin Boswell, Head of Advocacy and Policy at Tax Justice UK told Left Foot Forward: “At a time of declining living standards, with millions struggling to make ends meet, people are looking for politicians to offer up hope and solutions. Reform’s proposal to scrap inheritance tax will not only take away vital funding from our schools, hospitals and communities when they most need it, but give some of the wealthiest people in the country a tax break.
“People are looking for help to pay their energy bills, childcare or get affordable housing. Instead of offering real solutions, Reform is promising to rig the tax system further for a small minority of the country.
“When less than 1 in 20 even pay any form of inheritance tax, all this will do is help the richest pass on their fortunes without paying a penny back into the system.”
Boswell said that rather than scrapping inheritance tax, it should be reformed.
“A serious proposal would reform inheritance tax so that the super-rich can no longer get away with not paying as much as they should, so there’s more money for the things that matter to us most,” she said.
Research by the think tank Demo in 2023 found that three-quarters of people from all political backgrounds supported taxing inheritance.
Asked whether the government should scrap inheritance tax or use the money for public services, 63% said it should fund public services, compared with just 14% who said it should be abolished.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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