Why has the government brought in this 20% inheritance tax for farmers?

And you can bring one year forward I think. So in the first year you can gift £6k. Unless that’s been changed.

 

Surely all the pig breeders are minted these days?

 

Farmers are not poor. They work hard, long hours absolutely no doubt about that. 99% of them have beautiful homes on their land, several hundred thousand pounds worth of equipment (yes, most of it is leased, but they're obviously meeting the payments).

Let's face it, they're not daft. If they were going from year to year, earning next to nothing and living off gruel, they'd jack in and get a normal job. But for some reason, they keep toiling on the farm.

There's a well known phrase, especially up here in the rural north, that you'll never meet a poor farmer, only that farmers will tell you that they're poor as they hop into their 60/70 grand Range Rover off to their several hundred thousand pound farm house.

I don't begrudge anyone being rich by the way, I just think the outrage at this (not on here, but in general) is totally over the top.

 

The Guardian ran an article that suggested that farmers who rent the land might well suffer, particularly if the land is sold to big companies with no interest in farming.

 

It's to make sure Bellends like Clarkson and Dyson who will do anything to avoid paying their far share of tax despite being rich or in dysons case very rich. Rich people buying up farms and farming land to avoid payments inheritance

 

That's transparency for yer.

 

Yes that occurred to me as well. On the other hand, the land owner would face Capital gains tax if he sells it.

It's complicated.

 

Your average farm in the UK is worth over £1m.

So if the tax applies after the first £1m, a farm worth £2m would be subject to 20% tax on the £1m.

£200k therefore has to be paid at the time it is passed down.

Most farmers don’t have £200k laying around - especially the ones who are in receipt of the farm (the kids). So it would have to be financed.

Whether it can be financed and run comfortably at a profit still will vary per farm.

The trouble starts with bigger farms and higher values - it becomes a large amount then.

Problem is, when farms are ‘sold’ nearly 60% of the time they are sold to non-farmers - which is often a way to avoid inheritance tax further down the line. So this is an attempt to close that loophole off…….

However, there will be ‘innocent’ farmers who get caught by this. At a time when farming is suffering due to climate change, poor prices and ‘daft’ regulation - this is another kick in the teeth for them.

 

It’s really not. This affects a potential 19% of all farmers, that’s if every farmer passed his farm on under the current regs. There’s a decent article above that sums it up for me.

 

It is complicated...too complicated for most politicians who have little or no expertise in finance or tax affairs. I was listening to one of the Tories who was perhaps ironically defending Rachel Reeves over the Winter Fuel Allowance issue....he was saying that it wouldn't be her idea....that on a new Chancellor's first working day they meet with the Senior Civil Servant who has a book the size of War & Peace full of potential tax changes they have identified over the years along with the relevant totals of sums saved or tax gained, and its effects further down the line....the politician then decides from this pick & mix what is politically acceptable or justifiable.

 

Whenever was there a time when farmers weren't moaning?

 

The first £1 million is exempt, plus an extra £500,000 exemption for property. This doubles to £3 million if a married couple. Anything under £5 million can have the cost spread over 10 years.

 

I was going to post the same.

 

A view from Ed Balls

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...d-balls/ar-AA1tkqiU?ocid=finance-verthp-feeds

 

It's nice to think that the James Dysons of this world can spend millions on land they don't really need or want just to avoid the possibility of their heirs paying taxes that contribute to the running of their country, the education of it's children and the health of its population. (And Dyson cleaners are crap)