Darling's clever sleight of hand on Inheritance Tax
Peter Harrup, tax expert at PKF East Anglia, has admitted grudging admiration for the Chancellor's highly creative response to the Tories' plan to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1 million.
Mr Harrup, a partner at the firm that has offices in Ipswich, Norwich and Yarmouth, said: "The vote-winning potential of the Tories' election-busting IHT proposal certainly stirred up Darling's creative juices.
"By doubling the inheritance tax threshold for married couples and civil partnerships to £600,000 immediately and to £700,000 by 2010, he has not only stolen the Tories' thunder but will ease the tax burden for millions of hard-working families."
This doubled inheritance tax allowance will also be back-dated indefinitely for the UK's three million widows, widowers and bereaved civil partners.