An MPs’ committee has called on the Labour government to delay changes to Inheritance Tax affecting farmers for a year – but farmers and the public should ask who’s really doing the shouting – and why.
Industry groups like the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the Country Landowners’ Association (CLA) are pushing hard to paint these reforms as a devastating blow to “small family farms.”
Tractors have rolled into Westminster. Farmers are in uproar.
But is this really about farmers?
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The change at the heart of the controversy is the government’s decision to reduce the relief available on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1 million — taxing them at 20 per cent, rather than exempting them entirely.
Critics say this threatens thousands of farms.
The government counters that it will only affect around 500 of the wealthiest estates annually.
The media — some of them, at least — are helping to stoke fear, claiming that up to 49 per cent of farmers could be affected.
But this claim doesn’t hold up. The new tax only kicks in above £3 million in total assets, thanks to retained allowances.
That leaves the vast majority of family farms untouched.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
So what’s really going on?
As I explained in a previous article, this seems a strategic strike against wealthy individuals using farmland as a tax dodge — snapping up land they don’t farm, simply to shield their wealth from Inheritance Tax.
This isn’t about tractors and cows. It’s about loopholes and portfolios.
Before Labour’s reforms, farmland was a golden ticket for the rich: buy some acres, claim you’re “engaged in agriculture”, and avoid a 40 per cent tax on inheritance.
As a result, the price of farmland soared, pricing actual working farmers out of the market.
Young, aspiring farmers stood no chance.
But if farmland loses its tax-shield status, its artificial value crashes.
Suddenly, it’s no longer a financial asset — it’s just land.
And that is great news for real farmers.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
The very people protesting this policy could soon find themselves in a much stronger position.
Prices will fall.
Land will return to its actual use value, not speculative fantasy.
Farming will become affordable again.
Yes, change brings uncertainty.
And yes, older farmers deserve support during the transition.
But the solution isn’t to protect the tax shelters of the ultra-wealthy.
It’s to ensure the system serves working farmers — not investors in Wellington boots.
And here’s the cynical twist: many of the media echoing panic about the “destruction” of British farming are failing to report the basic facts about the policy.
Ask yourself why.
Could it be that some editors, executives — even owners — have land stashed away in their portfolios?
We’re there already! Thanks to amazing supporters, we’ve reached this month’s £50 goal to fund independent research and reporting.
How much further can we go? The more we receive, the more we can do.
If you value fearless political journalism that holds the powerful to account, please chip in today. Even £2 helps keep Vox Political running strong.
👉 Support us here: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
Inheritance Tax reform is exposing a long-standing racket.
The Labour government – that has dragged its own name through the mud with policy after policy designed to attack the very people it should protecting – deserves credit for having the courage to take on this racket.
Now ministers must hold their nerve.
And farmers should resist the spin.
In a few years’ time, they might just look back and realise that this was the moment the land came back to them.
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The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Inheritance Tax, farmland and the real agenda: why farmers shouldn’t be fooled
An MPs’ committee has called on the Labour government to delay changes to Inheritance Tax affecting farmers for a year – but farmers and the public should ask who’s really doing the shouting – and why.
Industry groups like the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the Country Landowners’ Association (CLA) are pushing hard to paint these reforms as a devastating blow to “small family farms.”
Tractors have rolled into Westminster. Farmers are in uproar.
But is this really about farmers?
We’re there already! Thanks to amazing supporters, we’ve reached this month’s £50 goal to fund independent research and reporting.
How much further can we go? The more we receive, the more we can do.
If you value fearless political journalism that holds the powerful to account, please chip in today. Even £2 helps keep Vox Political running strong.
👉 Support us here: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
The change at the heart of the controversy is the government’s decision to reduce the relief available on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1 million — taxing them at 20 per cent, rather than exempting them entirely.
Critics say this threatens thousands of farms.
The government counters that it will only affect around 500 of the wealthiest estates annually.
The media — some of them, at least — are helping to stoke fear, claiming that up to 49 per cent of farmers could be affected.
But this claim doesn’t hold up. The new tax only kicks in above £3 million in total assets, thanks to retained allowances.
That leaves the vast majority of family farms untouched.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
So what’s really going on?
As I explained in a previous article, this seems a strategic strike against wealthy individuals using farmland as a tax dodge — snapping up land they don’t farm, simply to shield their wealth from Inheritance Tax.
This isn’t about tractors and cows. It’s about loopholes and portfolios.
Before Labour’s reforms, farmland was a golden ticket for the rich: buy some acres, claim you’re “engaged in agriculture”, and avoid a 40 per cent tax on inheritance.
As a result, the price of farmland soared, pricing actual working farmers out of the market.
Young, aspiring farmers stood no chance.
But if farmland loses its tax-shield status, its artificial value crashes.
Suddenly, it’s no longer a financial asset — it’s just land.
And that is great news for real farmers.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
The very people protesting this policy could soon find themselves in a much stronger position.
Prices will fall.
Land will return to its actual use value, not speculative fantasy.
Farming will become affordable again.
Yes, change brings uncertainty.
And yes, older farmers deserve support during the transition.
But the solution isn’t to protect the tax shelters of the ultra-wealthy.
It’s to ensure the system serves working farmers — not investors in Wellington boots.
And here’s the cynical twist: many of the media echoing panic about the “destruction” of British farming are failing to report the basic facts about the policy.
Ask yourself why.
Could it be that some editors, executives — even owners — have land stashed away in their portfolios?
We’re there already! Thanks to amazing supporters, we’ve reached this month’s £50 goal to fund independent research and reporting.
How much further can we go? The more we receive, the more we can do.
If you value fearless political journalism that holds the powerful to account, please chip in today. Even £2 helps keep Vox Political running strong.
👉 Support us here: https://ko-fi.com/voxpolitical
Inheritance Tax reform is exposing a long-standing racket.
The Labour government – that has dragged its own name through the mud with policy after policy designed to attack the very people it should protecting – deserves credit for having the courage to take on this racket.
Now ministers must hold their nerve.
And farmers should resist the spin.
In a few years’ time, they might just look back and realise that this was the moment the land came back to them.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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