Darling: 'I didn't steal Tory policies'

Chancellor Alistair Darling has denied that he stole the Tories' policies in his pre-Budget report.

Speaking to Accountancy Age, Darling said today: '[I said earlier this year] that I was considering a major tax reform package, which I would announce in the pre-budget report. That is what I have done.'

Darling gave separate interviews to Accountancy Age and the Financial Times earlier this year outlining his views on various subjects, including non-doms.

'Included in that was looking at inheritance tax, the treatment of non-dom taxpayers and private equity,' he said. 'I wasn't going to be put off by unaffordable announcements by Mr Osborne at the Tory Party Conference. And indeed I wasn't.

'If you look at what I did, it is absolutely reasonable to give married couples the same tax allowance for inheritance tax as they have for capital gains tax. I did it because it was affordable.

'I wasn't reacting to announcements at the Tory conference. I started work on yesterday's statement in July almost as soon as I arrived in the Treasury and I wasn't going to change it because of what Mr Osborne said in Blackpool,' said Darling.