Inheritance tax receipts surged to a record high last year following a stealth raid by Jeremy Hunt. Data published by HM Revenue & Customs showed it received £7.5bn in inheritance tax (IHT) receipts in the financial year to the end of March, £400m above the same period last year. Official forecasts suggest inheritance tax receipts could top £9.5bn before the end of the decade. Mr Hunt has faced repeated calls to abolish inheritance tax, and the Tories are understood to have considered including a plan to scrap it in last year’s Autumn Statement before opting for National Insurance reductions instead. The amount raised from IHT has surged in the past few years after the Chancellor froze the threshold at which it is payable at £325,000 until 2028, preventing it from rising in line with inflation and forcing more families to pay. It came as official figures showed that Jeremy Hunt has missed his annual borrowing target in a blow to the Chancellor’s ambition to cut taxes again before the election. The deficit stood at £11.9bn last month, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is higher than the £10bn predicted by economists and means the Government borrowed £120.7bn to plug the...