Jacob Rees-Mogg says cuts to inheritance tax will help “drive Britain into the next century” – despite the fact that such measures are only likely to benefit the well-off.
Speaking on his GB News show, the Tory politician warned that inheritance tax has “economic consequences” which undermine “progress and investment”.
Take the people who, for example, might have thought about buying a FTSE 100 company, which is an investment that is liable to inheritance tax, or those who own a house built on farmland.
You know, the average Joe.
Rees-Mogg made the comments as the chancellor eyes up tax-cutting pledges to woo voters ahead of the next general election.
A study published this year from the IFS showed that the wealthiest 1 per cent would get half the benefit of scrapping inheritance tax, with an average tax cut of £1 million.
‘Reforming inheritance tax’, by Arun Advani and David Sturrock, notes that only a small share of estates are affected by the tax; and by the time inheritances arrive, wealth inequalities by parental background are already well entrenched and hard to undo.
The most recent HMRC statistics show less than 4 per cent of estates paid inheritance tax in 2020–21.
However, the rapid growth in wealth among older individuals means this number is set to rise to over 7 per cent by 2032–33.
Related: Brexit campaigner and Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin set to be knighted
