伯明翰，10月7日——英国反对党保守党的领袖凯米·巴德诺克周三承诺：如果该党执政，将废除针对家庭住宅的遗产税，并允许夫妇在去世后转移额外100万英镑（约合130万美元）的财产而无需缴纳这笔税款。
BIRMINGHAM, Oct 7 - The leader of Britain's opposition Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch, pledged on Wednesday to abolish inheritance tax on family homes and let couples pass on an additional £1 million ($1.3 million) without incurring the levy if the party wins power.
保守党是英国历史上执政时间最长的政党，但在2016年英国决定退出欧盟后的多年政治动荡与内斗中，其支持率已跌至第三位。
The Conservative Party, which has spent more time governing Britain than any other party, now sits third in opinion polls after years of political chaos and infighting in the aftermath of the 2016 vote to leave the European Union.
在保守党大会的最后一天，巴德诺克在演讲中强调减税和提振经济的重要性，将下一次选举描述为“一场关乎国家命运的斗争”，并将自己的经济理念与执政的工党进行了对比。她表示，希望等到英国政府有能力承担时彻底废除遗产税；目前，遗产税的税率是遗产价值的40%（对于价值超过32.5万英镑的遗产而言）；如果遗产由直系亲属继承，则税率会上升至50%。
On the final day of the Conservative Party conference, Badenoch put tax cuts and growing the economy at the heart of her speech, framing the next election as a "battle for the soul of this nation" and contrasting her economic vision with that of the governing Labour Party. Badenoch said she would like to abolish inheritance tax entirely when the British government can afford it, which is currently 40% of an estate's value over £325,000, or above £500,000 if a home is given to a direct descendant.
“我认为那些努力工作并储蓄的人理应得到相应的回报，”巴德诺克说。
"I believe the people who work hard and save should be rewarded for that effort," Badenoch said.
民意调查显示，削减或废除遗产税这一举措广受欢迎。尽管只有约5%的富裕家庭需要缴纳遗产税，但这项税种仍经常被视为英国民众最反感的税种之一。
BADENOCH SAYS WORK TO DO TO RESTORE TRUST Polling suggests a cut in or abolition of inheritance tax would be broadly popular. Inheritance tax is regularly named in polls as Britain's most disliked levy even though only about 5% of wealthy estates pay the levy.
根据英国下议院的研究，由于房价不断上涨（尤其是在伦敦），越来越多的人需要缴纳遗产税；按照目前的税率，到2030/2031年，该税种预计将带来147亿英镑的税收收入。
At its current level, the tax is expected to raise about £14.7 billion by 2030/2031, as rising property prices, particularly in London, mean a greater proportion of people are liable to pay it, according to research by the House of Commons.
在演讲中，巴德诺克将自己定位为减税和减少政府支出的倡导者，与首相安迪·伯纳姆领导的工党的“国家主导型经济计划”形成鲜明对比。她指责伯纳姆的政策会令英国变得更加贫困，并批评他“想把我们没有的钱花在那些我们根本负担不起的事情上”。
In the speech, Badenoch cast herself as a champion of lower taxes and government spending compared to the state-directed economic plans of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Labour Party. Badenoch said Burnham's policies would make Britain "poorer" and accused him of wanting to spend "money we don’t have on things we can't afford".
她还提议将21至24岁年轻人的雇主应承担的国民保险（社会保障）缴费率从目前的15%降至7.5%，以帮助他们更容易找到工作。
She also proposed to cut employer National Insurance social security contributions from the current rate of 15% to 7.5% for 21- to 24-year-olds to help them find work.
巴德诺克承认，要重新赢得公众对她的政党的信任，还有“很多工作要做”。
Badenoch admitted there was "still a lot of work to do" to restore public trust in her party.
她说：“人们正在观望我们的政策，他们觉得这些政策不错，但还没有足够多的人真正选择支持我们。我们必须解决这个问题。”——路透社（Reuters）
"People are looking through the shop window, they like what they see, but not enough of them are buying yet," she said. "We need to fix that." REUTERS