Starmer just put left-winger who proposed radical 'whole life' inheritance tax at centre of Labour policy-making
Keir Starmer has recruited Carys Roberts into the Downing Street Policy Unit as a special adviser
Getty/ X/@carysroberts
In his first weeks as Prime Minister, Starmer has been filling key ministerial appointments and recruiting expert figures who are likely to shape policy development.
Carys Roberts, the director of the left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank has been recruited into the Downing Street Policy Unit as a special adviser.
The Executive Director has spent much of her time advocating to increase taxes on employees and on wealth.
Roberts co-wrote a report titled "A Wealth of Difference: Reforming the Taxation of Wealth," published in 2018 which made five recommendations to transform the tax treatment of wealth in the UK.
Keir Starmer has been building his government with key appointments during his first few weeks as prime minister
Getty
One of these proposals was to replace the inheritance tax with a whole life gift tax, which, in short, is an enlargement of the confiscation of family inheritance.
Under the system, inheritance tax would be abolished and the new tax would be imposed on any gifts received by an individual above a lifetime allowance of £125,000.
When this lifetime limit is reached, any income from gifts would be taxed annually at the same rate as income from labour under the income tax schedule.
Roberts argued: "If you’re well advised and if you can predict when you’re going to pass away it [inheritance tax] is very easy to avoid."
John McDonnell, a member of the Labour Party who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, said in 2019 that the party was contemplating Roberts' idea.
Carys Roberts announced her new position in government with a post on X
X/@carysroberts
LATEST FROM MEMBERSHIP:
"I think it's interesting. We need to have a fairer system of how we can ensure that wealth is more fairly distributed — that’s one idea and we are listening to a whole range of ideas," McDonnell said.
Roberts also personally supported John McDonnell's plans to hike wealth taxes and to mandatorily reduce working hours.
Other proposals from Roberts' paper included taxing all income from wealth under the income tax schedule, abolishing non-domiciled status and reforming trusts to be more transparent.
Other ideas were to introduce an annual property tax to replace council tax and eventually stamp duty and to introduce a land value tax to replace business rates.
Roberts was also among the leading figures behind Labour's now-scrapped pledge to spend £28 billion a year on green investment.
In her new position, Roberts will advise Starmer on climate, energy and the environment.