Rishi Sunak is said to be considering cutting inheritance tax ahead of the next general election in a move to give the ailing Tories a poll boost.

The vast majority of families are not eligible to pay tax on the estate of a loved one who has died, but it remains consistently unpopular with voters.

The prime minister is eyeing a reduction in inheritance tax in a bid to boost Tory popularity in the “blue wall” south of England, according to Bloomberg.

Mr Sunak was keen on the move as chancellor and “a pre-election giveaway” remains an option, two ministers told the outlet.

Only 4 per cent of deaths in the UK resulted in the paying of inheritance tax, the latest government statistics. It is only paid when the value of an estate is above the £325,000 threshold.

Jo Maugham, director of the Good Law Project campaign group, said that slashing inheritance tax “would be a tax cut for the unearned wealth of the children of the richest people in the country. People like Rishi’s children”.

However, tax expert Dan Neidle inheritance tax is a “bad tax” that hurts some middle-class Britons while the super-rich use loopholes to avoid it.

“The upper-middle class pay a high 40% rate,” he tweeted. “The seriously wealthy use the generous swathe of exemptions and loopholes to pay little or nothing. The answer is to cut the loopholes and also cut the rate.”

Mr Neidle added: “If that’s what Sunak is planning – great. If it’s just a tax cut, leaving all the loopholes in place, not so great.”

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