Inheritance tax

Thursday

Richard Morris

The masterpieces on your doorstep

I do not, if I can help it, catch a train to anywhere on a Sunday. Yet there I was at 9.14 a.m. heading out from Woodbridge in Suffolk towards Cambridge to view a painting by Walter Sickert, a work I had not seen before and whose vital statistics – what even the work was of – I had no way of knowing; its owner had refused to send a photograph or describe it over the telephone. Arriving at the owner’s address, I was met by a neighbour who told me that in the name of letting go and embracing surprise, they had decided to visit a relative in Scotland

Sunday

Ross Clark

Why is Sunak cutting a tax only paid by the rich?

Last week, Rishi Sunak struck a blow for ordinary people against the elitist project that is net zero, assuring them that a government led by him will not be loading them with tens of thousands of pounds in costs for fitting heat pumps, forcing them to buy an impractical electric car or stinging them in taxes for flying off on holiday. The opposition, at least in the shape of Ed Miliband, fell right into his trap. As polls have shown over and over again, public support for net zero tends to melt away very fast when it comes to asking them about issues which threaten to affect them personally.     So

Tuesday

Matthew Lynn

Only one tax cut can save Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak’s promises on tax are lacklustre. He’s announced a fiddly one-off tax break on energy that will last for just a year which hardly anyone will notice due to inflation. There’s also income tax cuts up to seven years in the future, even though he is hardly likely to be Prime Minister by then (and he seldom keeps any promises on taxation for more than a few hours anyway).  Sunak’s promises and u-turns on taxes are making him look inconsistent at best, and a cynical opportunist at worst. The Tory members are right to regard his words with suspicion. But there is one tax cut that could still win the membership over: abolishing inheritance