Torsten Bell has warned that the Conservatives' proposed inheritance-tax exemption for family homes could encourage owners to remain in larger properties instead of downsizing.
The Labour MP for Swansea West made the argument on Sunday in an exchange with shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith about the effect of the policy on the housing market.
Bell said giving homes preferential tax treatment could make selling a larger property less attractive. He also warned that it could encourage some people to buy bigger homes.
Griffith disputed that analysis, arguing that stamp duty was the greater obstacle to downsizing. The Conservatives have pledged to remove stamp duty on homes alongside their inheritance-tax changes.
The disagreement concerns incentives under a proposed future tax system. Bell's intervention challenges the claim that the Conservative package would help the housing market, with neither proposal representing an enacted change.
