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The Conservatives are said to be discussing scrapping inheritance tax in a bid to win over voters at the next election.

What is the tax, how much do people pay – and who are the Tories hoping to win over if they axe it?

What is inheritance tax?

Inheritance tax is paid on money, property and possessions somebody leaves behind after they die.

These things of value are known as the person’s estate.

Inheritance tax isn’t paid on the whole estate. If a person’s estate is worth less than £325,000, there isn’t any inheritance tax to pay.

If it’s worth more than that, inheritance tax applies and everything above that threshold will be taxed 40% (but you still get the first £325,000 tax-free).

However, there are some instances where the threshold changes.

Married couples

If you are married or in a civil partnership, you can pass on a home to your spouse without paying inheritance tax.

The surviving partner also inherits what’s left of the late partner’s tax-free threshold.

If the first spouse to die did not use any of their threshold, the surviving person will be able to leave £650,000 without any tax being paid on it.

Leaving a home to a child or grandchild

If you give away your home to your children – including adopted, foster or stepchildren – or grandchildren, the inheritance tax threshold rises to £500,000.

Are there any other loopholes?

If you leave everything above your tax-free threshold to a charity or a community amateur sports club, it won’t be subject to inheritance tax.

What about money given away before you die?

Money given away in your lifetime is mostly still considered part of your estate, unless you survive for seven years after giving it.

However, you can give away up to £3,000 a year before you die and it isn’t considered part of your estate, so isn’t liable for tax.

You can also give away payments of up to £250 per person each tax year and they are excluded from inheritance tax.

Wedding gifts are another way to give away money tax-free. You can give £5,000 to a child, £2,500 to a grandchild and £1,000 to anyone else without worrying about inheritance tax.

Does everyone pay inheritance tax?

No. Inheritance tax is only paid on estates that reach the thresholds laid out above.

According to the HMRC, that’s only one in 20 estates.

The Treasury said more than 93% of estates are forecast to have zero inheritance tax liability in the coming years.

How much money is raised through inheritance tax?

About £7bn is raised each year through inheritance tax. This money is spent on public services.

What are the Conservative Party’s plans for inheritance tax?

Conservatives are reportedly discussing scrapping inheritance tax.

But Number 10 has indicated it is not an immediate priority.

It’s “future-scoping speculation”, Number 10 told Sky News, and “requires a different kind of economic environment to the one we’re operating in”.

It could be considered a manifesto pledge rather than a policy to be implemented next year.

Why would the Tories want to axe inheritance tax?

The Conservatives are trailing Labour in opinion polls and are on the lookout for ways to shore up votes.

As Sky News’ chief political correspondent Jon Craig explains: “This is one – potentially – for the manifesto, in a bid to win back those disgruntled Tory voters in the shires and the so-called ‘blue wall’.”

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Nike says Trump tariffs could cost it $1bn

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Nike says Trump tariffs could cost it bn

Nike’s costs will go up $1bn (£728m) this year if US President Donald Trump’s tariffs remain at the current level, the company has told investors.

It follows a warning from the sports brand last month that it would raise prices due to the taxes imposed on imports.

Work to bring down costs is under way, including reducing supplies from China to the US.

It’s to reduce the amount of footwear made in China and imported to the US from 16% currently to a “high single digit” figure with Chinese supply being “reallocated to other countries around the world”.

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On 2 April, Mr Trump announced country-specific tariffs which hit China hardest and escalated after several rounds of retaliatory rises.

After an agreement between Washington and Beijing the levy was brought down from a 145% tariff to 30% on Chinese goods.

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Trump’s tariffs: What you need to know

Price rises for consumers will start to come into effect in the autumn.

The latest warning on tariffs comes as Nike reported the worst quarterly results in more than three years.

Revenues were $11.1bn (£8.1bn) – the lowest since the third quarter of 2022.

It has been dealing with the after-effects of an unsuccessful move to sell direct-to-consumer with Wall Street analysts also critical of its dependence on lifestyle products and reliance on fashion trends.

Nike chief executive Elliott Hill had returned from retirement last year to again take the top job at the company.

The worst of the trade wars have already occurred, Mr Hill said, with “the headwinds to moderate from here”.

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Post Office: Police identify seven suspects related to Horizon scandal

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Post Office: Police identify seven suspects related to Horizon scandal

Police investigating the Horizon Post Office scandal have now identified seven suspects, with more than 45 people classed as “persons of interest”.

A “scaled-up” national team of officers has been in place for over six months as part of Operation Olympos – dedicated to looking at crimes related to the Horizon Post Office scandal.

The number of suspects has increased to seven since before Christmas, as part of a UK-wide investigation involving 100 officers.

Four have now been interviewed under caution.

Hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongfully convicted of stealing after faulty computer software created false accounting shortfalls in Post Office branches between 1999 and 2015.

Commander Stephen Clayman, Gold Command for Operation Olympos, described a “huge shift” in terms of their investigation and “significant progress”.

Commander Stephen Clayman
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Commander Stephen Clayman

“We’ve got over four million documents that are going to rise to about six million documents,” he said, “but we’re beginning to methodically work through those and looking at individuals who are associated with certain prosecutions.”

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He described a “pool of about 45 people plus” classed as “persons of interest”, with that number “expected to grow”.

He added that officers have questioned “some” in the past and “more recently” and are looking at the offences of perverting the course of justice and perjury.

The “wider pool” of persons of interest is made up of Post Office investigators, lawyers, and “management” across Fujitsu and the Post Office.

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Post Office knew about faulty IT system

The team of officers will be identifying actions which could amount to criminal offences on both an individual and corporate basis.

Any decisions made on whether to charge will not happen until after the Post Office inquiry findings are “published and reviewed”.

The Operation Olympos officers are part of four teams – a London hub and three regional teams – who have been described as “highly motivated” across England and Wales.

Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland are also helping.

Cmdr Clayman said that officers “will be building a robust case” to pass on to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Operation Olympos
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Officer working in one of the four Operation Olympos teams

He also added that, compared to the inquiry, his officers will have to “prove this to the criminal standard…a much, much higher standard”.

He described feeling “optimistic” and “confident” that the teams will have “some successful outcomes”, and said they are “working as hard and as quickly as (they) can”.

Teams are involved in what has been described as a “focused strategy which gets to the heart of the issues”.

Their investigations are being overseen by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Metropolitan Police.

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Victims have also been told that the police will not be reinvestigating every case but “taking a speculative look at cases” to focus on key people involved and evidence for prosecution.

Operation Olympos is also making use of special software to help process the amount of evidence to sift through material in relation to key events and identified cases.

Of the four suspects interviewed under caution, two were questioned in late 2021, one in late 2024 and the most recent in early 2025.

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New Look owners line up bankers to fashion high street exit

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New Look owners line up bankers to fashion high street exit

New Look is to hire investment bankers to undertake a strategic review which is expected to trigger an auction of the high street fashion chain.

Sky News has learnt that New Look’s owners, who are led by the investment firm Alcentra, have opened talks with banks about advising on a process to take place during the next 12 months.

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An appointment, which follows unsolicited approaches for the business, is expected to be made in the near future.

New Look, which trades from approximately 340 stores and employs about 10,000 people across the UK, is the country’s second-largest womenswear retailer in the 18 to 44-year-old age group.

It has been owned by its current shareholders – Alcentra and Brait – since October 2020.

In April, Sky News reported that the investors were injecting £30m of fresh equity into the business to aid its digital transformation.

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Last year, the chain reported sales of £769m, with an improvement in gross margins and a statutory loss before tax of £21.7m – down from £88m the previous year.

Like most high street retailers, it endured a torrid COVID-19 and engaged in a formal financial restructuring through a company voluntary arrangement.

In the autumn of 2023, it completed a £100m refinancing deal with Blazehill Capital and Wells Fargo.

A spokesperson for New Look said the company did not “comment on rumour and speculation”.

“Management are focused on running the company and executing the strategy for long-term growth.

“The company is trading well and has supportive shareholders.”

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