Cameron continues voter charm-offensive by stating that “only the very wealthy” should pay inheritance tax

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said that he would like only the very wealthy to pay inheritance tax after being asked about it at an Age UK conference on Tuesday.

Those with not so long memories will remember that back in 2007, George Osborne had announced plans to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1m, from the existing £325,000 (or £650,000 for couples), but hastily back tracked.

The latest claim could be seen as a tactic to increase party popularity, but with average property prices in the UK rising to £274,000 in recent times a large proportion of people will be stung by the 40 inheritance tax, almost by default - and it’s generally accepted that this is unfair.

As reported in the Guardian, speaking at the conference, Cameron said “To me inheritance tax is a tax that should be paid by the very wealthy. I think you should be able to pass a family home on to your children rather than leave it to the taxman.”

“I would like to see that go further because I think even at £650,000, particularly in some parts of the country, you see someone who has worked hard, they have put money into their house, they have done it up to improve it and they want to leave it to their children and they don’t feel that they are in any way the mega-rich, and they feel: ‘I should be able to do that without having 40% of it knocked off’

The latest comments come just a few weeks after George Osborne announced further changes to UK pension rules, including the abolition of the 55% death tax.

Any changes are unlikely to be introduced before the next General Elections, but there is expected to be a lot more news about how these repeated tax cuts will be funded, with many fearing new stealth taxes to be introduced.