Osborne unveils Tory inheritance tax plan

Plans to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1 million have been unveiled by shadow chancellor George Osborne.

In a keynote speech in which he firmly committed the Conservatives to lower taxes, Mr Osborne said the inheritance tax change from the current £300,000 starting point would benefit nine million families and ensure "only millionaires pay death duties".

Setting out a "new dividing line in British politics," ahead of a possible snap election, he told the Tory conference in Blackpool: "We will take the family home out of inheritance tax.

"In a Conservative Britain you will not be punished for working hard and saving hard."

Mr Osborne also confirmed he would abolish stamp duty for almost all first time buyers and pay for the change through a flat rate £25,000 levy on the well-off who register for non-domicile tax status.

He said the Conservatives were "ready to lead" the country and repeatedly promised lower taxes, insisting: "We are the low tax party. For this party lower taxes aren't just for Christmas. They are for life.

"I will approach each Budget seeking ways, consistent with sound public finances and economic stability, to reduce taxes on businesses and families striving for a better life.

"That's the real difference between this Chancellor and the next one. He is always looking for ways to put taxes up. I will be looking for ways to bring taxes down."

Mr Osborne vowed that a Conservative Government would always put stability first, blamed Gordon Brown for the run on Northern Rock and urged him to "get on and call" an election.

"Under David Cameron, this conference says with one voice - united, we are ready to serve our country," he said.

"We will put ourselves forward for office as the ally of those who aspire, the friend of those who are left behind, the champion of those who strive for a better life for themselves and their children.

"Last week in Bournemouth you saw the past. This week in Blackpool you see the future."

In a message to Mr Brown, Mr Osborne said: "If you want an election then get on and call it because your cynicism and your fear will lose every time to our hope and our optimism.

"He can never be the change the country needs. We can."

The shadow chancellor said the world was living through an "economic revolution", which only the Tories truly understood.

He said lower and simpler taxes were vital for Britain to compete but insisted he would not promise "unfunded, undeliverable" tax giveaways."

And he promised to switch air passenger duties to a tax on airline pollution, adding: "Every penny a Conservative Government raises in new green taxes will go into our family fund and straight back to the taxpayer with matching tax cuts.

"No more stealth taxes. You will not be out of pocket with a Conservative Government."

Mr Osborne acknowledged that the Tories had had their own period of "appearing to be out of touch with the modern world; of appearing not to understand that people want to commit to each other in civil partnerships; of appearing not to understand that many women want both careers and families.

"But thanks to David Cameron we've worked hard to change our party. Now we are the champions of modern Britain."

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