Gordon Brown claims his inheritance tax policy recognises marriage

Despite what the headline might make you think, this item is not an April Fool. In a web chat with Saga magazine, Brown said:

“We made it possible for people to transfer their allowances so…between husband and wife…and that means widows for example can have the full benefit of the husband’s previous allowance, and that meant for a large number of people the effective point at which they started paying inheritance tax was above £600,000. So you know for most people that situation has changed quite dramatically over the last few years by the doubling, effectively, of the allowance that is available to a family, and it’s a recognition of marriage in the tax system if you like”

What’s amusing about this is the hyperbolic way in which Brown talks about the Tories’ sensible plans to recognsie marriage in the tax system. In his 2007 conference speech, Brown implicitly called them unchristian.