"Farmers aren't rich" as Northumberland farmer warns of devastating impact due to tax changes

A tenant farmer from Northumberland, was among an estimated 10,000 individuals who marched on Westminster this Tuesday and has warned that "every single farmer" in his area will be impacted by the recent budget changes. Chronicle Live readers are not all sympathetic, with some feeling the changes are long overdue.

Farming leaders have criticised Chancellor Rachel Reeves for her alleged refusal to engage with them regarding contentious alterations to inheritance tax.

The farming community has expressed outrage over the changes to inheritance tax for farming businesses, which now restricts the existing 100% relief for farms to only the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property.

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Mr Spours journeyed to Whitehall to voice his opposition to the changes to inheritance tax and new carbon rules, which he believes will impact the cost of fertiliser. Speaking to the PA News Agency, he revealed: "We are about £60,000 worse off next year from payments that have been slashed by the Government. Going forward, there is more taxes to come on fertiliser that’s going to affect us hugely as well, so it’s looking pretty grim. I'm not a farm owner, I'm just a tenant, but we will still be impacted by business property relief."

NFU president Tom Bradshaw, during a speech, described the policy as "kicking the legs out from under British food security."

Yet, Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, informed PA News Agency that the inheritance change would only affect a few hundred farms, not the tens of thousands as critics have suggested. He also refuted claims that Labour, which has seen an increase in MPs from rural areas since the last general election, lacks understanding of countryside issues.

Commenter Vostock says: “The subject of this article is unaffected by inheritance tax changes as it's not his farm. He's running it at the fancy of a rich landowner. The farmers who voted for Brexit also voted to remove the relative stability of the CAP and replace it with the whim of the Government of the day. He should start by complaining to his Brexit-voting brethren.”

Sidsnot agrees: “Brexit, the gift that keeps on giving. Yet no one who wanted it will ever admit it’s been terrible. Especially for farmers (who voted for it in their droves). WHAT DO WE WANT? THE RICH NOT PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE OF TAXES. WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW.”

Alandillon points out: “Farmers aren't rich, they might be asset rich with family owned farms, but they're not cash rich, you don't see farmers driving around in Ferraris and living it large do you?”

Thinwhite duke says: “The government has their sums wrong, as usual, still haven't published the line by line report on the mysterious black hole that the OBR can't find. According to them only 500 farmers are affected by the tax changes, absolute garbage, some pen pushers in Whitehall have estimated this with no access to the data. Virtually every farm will be affected . All the NI increases and public borrowing is swallowed up in paying the over bloated public sector, data released today shows productivity in this area has continued to decline. There will be no growth , how can there be if they don't produce anything?”

Frazzle2 replies: “'Virtually every farm will be affected' Not quite. The NFU has said up to 68% of farms COULD be affected. Remember also that beneficiaries have up to 10 years (interest free) to pay the tax. Naturally, the NFU has a particular view on the subject. This is an alternative view from Sustain last week:

"The rationale behind the changes is clear: for decades, farmland has served as a tax shelter for the wealthy. Introduced in 1992, the inheritance tax exemption for farmland allowed multi-millionaires, and in some cases billionaires, to avoid significant tax liabilities. Labour’s introduction of a cap aims to close this loophole and prevent land from being a convenient tax dodge for the ultra-rich."

ResidentWeevil thinks: “Half the farmland sales last year were to investors, not farmers - driving up prices and making it certain that tenant farmers will never own their own farm. The fact that the government might make it necessary for ultra rich landowners to actually sell some of their land is going to be a big win for smaller farmers.”

Frazzle2 agrees: “In 2021 Jeremy Clarkson said the reason he bought farmland was to avoid Inheritance Tax. Some farmers will find the tax challenging, but at the end of the day it is a business and I'm not totally sold on the picture painted of farmers selflessly toiling in the fields to provide food for the country. The vast majority of businesses are supplying goods and services for the nation - it's what they do. And many farmers will happily sell off land for development when the opportunity arises.”

Bill25 says finally: “Remember, these are the same farmers that scold you for walking one inch onto their precious land, the same farmers that sell to Bellway for inflated prices at the drop of a hat and don’t give one iota about the local community. The same farmers that look down on you and drive a 170k Range Rover that’s never been off road in its life. They aren’t there to feed us. Most of our food comes from abroad, they are there because they are rich land owners who were bequeathed it from a feudal system going back 500 years.”

How do you feel about the new measures affecting farming? Are the farmers right to protest? Have your say in our comments section.