Daily Express: Daily Express has spoken for millions

By Macer Hall, Political Editor

DAVID Cameron's Tories made their boldest appeal yet to reclaim the hearts of Middle Britain yesterday by promising to raise the inheritance duty threshold to £1million.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne set the Conservative conference alight by sounding "the death knell" for the duty, lifting nine million households from the tax trap.

"For millions of people, today sounds the death knell for death taxes, " he told the delighted Tory grassroots, earning the biggest roar of approval of the week so far.

Activists interrupted the speech with a 30s econds-long burst of applause and cheering.

The new Tory policy represents a giant leap forward for the Daily Express crusade against the nightmare of death duty.

Mr Osborne's pledge was part of a package of tax proposals designed to reward the hardworking, middle-income families so squeezed by stealth taxation under Gordon Brown.

He called his proposals the "most important reform of capital taxes for a generation" signalling his determination to champion the "aspirations of ordinary people."

He also offered a huge boost to first-time buyers vowing to raise the Stamp Duty threshold from £125,000 to £250,000, saving 200,000 purchasers a year an average of £2,000.

"We will take 10million people out of these taxes on aspiration, " Mr Osborne said.

The estimated £3.5billion cost of the two tax cuts would be made up by a new annual levy on people registered as living abroad.

Around 150,000 people would be liable for the £25,000 a year charge, the Tories estimate.

Low tax campaigners were quick to respond. Matthew Elliott of the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "It's great news that ordinary families could no longer have to pay inheritance tax and that young couples will be exempted from stamp duty when they buy their first home."

Nicholas Hughes, of tax advisers Chilterns, said: "If this becomes law, it will take millions of estates out of Inheritance Tax, because the threshold for a married couple will effectively be £2million. This promise knocks Gordon Brown's current plans into a cocked hat. It will certainly put Labour under huge pressure on Inheritance Tax in this autumn's prebudget report."

Mr Osborne said the desire to pass on wealth to future generations was "the most basic human instinct of all." He pledged help for people who "aspire to a better life for their children and their grandchildren. Our Government will be on their side, " he said.

Mr Osborne went on: "When inheritance tax was first introduced it was designed to hit the very rich. But the very rich hire expensive advisers to make sure they don't pay it.

"Instead, thanks to Gordon Brown, this unfair tax falls increasingly on the aspirations of ordinary people."

He said that "well over a third of homeowners in Britain have the threat of inheritance tax hanging over them."

Mr Osborne said the move would take the family home out of inheritance tax for the vast majority of cases.

"In a Conservative Britain, only millionaires will pay death duties, " he said.

He accused Mr Brown of taxing a generation out of home ownership and taking away the homes from families who have saved all their lives.

Mr Osborne said: "We are the party of aspiration. And I for one am happy to put these clear choices before the British people at a general election."

Mr Osborne vowed to put economic stability first but also to seek to lower the tax burden.

He said. "I believe lower, simpler taxes are vital for Britain to compete."

Tory activists in Blackpool were buoyant. One said: "At last, a policy to get really excited about."

Last night, questions were raised about whether the levy on those registered as living abroad could hit the economy by driving entrepreneurs out of the country.

Carl Emmerson of think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: "We don't know exactly how many there are in that position, let alone how many will choose to pay the £25,000 a year that Mr Osborne wants to charge them."

And Confederation of British Industry chief Richard Lambert said: "The taxation of nondomiciled individuals needs to be carefully considered in the context of the contribution that they bring to the country as a whole."

The inheritance tax pledge sent shockwaves through Labour, threatening Gordon Brown's hopes of winning a snap general election.

But Chancellor Alistair Darling said: "George Osborne cannot afford the promises he is making. He cannot afford to cut inheritance tax. There is a gaping black hole at the heart of their tax and spending plans."