Kemi Badenoch is considering abolishing inheritance tax, with the Conservatives potentially unveiling the policy at the party’s autumn conference.
The Tory leader and new shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith have both signalled support for scrapping the tax, although officials said no final decision had been taken and any tax cuts would need to be fully costed.
Mrs Badenoch said: “Inheritance tax is high on my list. But... we are the party of fiscal responsibility. So I have instructed my economic unit to bring me a plan of what we can do responsibly.”
Mr Griffith has also previously described inheritance tax as “very distortive” and said he would “love to see us reduce the rate of inheritance tax”.
The Conservatives pledged last year to abolish stamp duty on main homes, but officials acknowledge scrapping inheritance tax would cost more than twice as much in the first year of a new parliament.