Do you need your parent/s to die before April 2026? *MNHQ adding content warning mentions suicide*

[Spatulation]

Absolutely reeling that we're losing the farm that my grandfather bought, my father expanded and my son hoped to takeover.

The budget today means that we'll owe £1000000 in tax and we won't be able to get a mortgage as that's 5 times our annual income and over 35000 times bigger than last year's profit.

We own soil. That's it.

Agriculture has the highest suicide rate in any profession - sadly I can see it hitting an all time high in the next 18 months. My father (83) is already talking about it.

What a disgusting post
Indeed, most PPs have demonstrated how mean-spirited, petty, jealous and cruel women can be to one another.
Fuck the sisterhood. Fuck supporting a woman in distress
Why? Because they think she has money. Worse than that, it's inherited money -'oh, my fucking god, how very dare she worry that her millions will be distributed amongst the poor?'
Yet, there are many posts on MN from those screaming that their parents are spending 'their inheritance ' which 'should either be given to us now or not spent because they have no need for holidays or things to make their older years comfy'

You’re absolutely right that the general population doesn’t understand farming. We’re farmers so have an understanding of your OP. Hopefully your Dad will be ok. Feel free to PM me to chat with someone who does understand xx

Another post demonsteating no idea how it works but opinion given nonetheless

I agree and with @Whothefuckdoesthat and pp saying the same. Sorry op that you are facing this

I honestly don’t think people realise how expensive food should be - they moan that farmers get subsidies from the government but these subsidies keep food prices low to the end consumer so it’s not really a subsidy for the farmer it’s for the general public!

Why would a suicidal person swap lives with someone that is facing a tax bill of £1000000 should their loved one die and the loss of a family business? Makes no sense. If the people on less than £400 UC contemplate suicide over hunger they certainly aren’t going to swap places but you probably only said that to try make OP feel bad for coming from a working family

Sorry to hear that, it’s like daylight robbery. Can it be avoided if the farm was transferred into your name before he passes? I’m just wondering if that could be a loophole..

If my father was talking about suicide I'd be doing everything I could to reassure him that while there would be a sizable amount to pay, you are all going to be absolutely fine. You will still be sitting on huge wealth and that his lifes work has made it possible to advantage you in ways that others couldn't dream of. That his grandson is young with countless opportunities to make a life for himself if he can't farm and that his still enormous inherited wealth will cushion him from financial troubles for ever. That your father should feel proud of that and that his continued life is what matters. I'm very sorry for his distress.

There’s nothing made up about it. The OP is clearly reeling from today’s budget. If you were farmers, you’d understand too.

This is terrible- I am truly sorry OP, and find it shocking how cruel and ignorant some of the responses you are getting have been.

OP - you have made sympathies. This was a cruel and ill thought out measure, hopefully it will be repealed.

The arrogance and unkindness of so many on this thread is a demonstration of people’s ignorance of where their food comes from and how farming works.

Well that's rubbish. My family has farmed for a lot longer than yours and has always succession planned even with a much less valuable farm than you have (they have a large hill farm in Scotland).

So, who currently owns the farm? You can make it a limited company or you can split it between your DF, DM, yourself (assume you farm?) and your spouse and if your DS is already involved in the business him as well and his spouse when he gets married. Just go to your accountant and lawyer and sort out the best option.

Also, I'm confused about your stated income (£200K) vs your profit (£28). Or was that just hyperbole? There has been uncertainty in British farming since Brexit, you should have been futureproofing for a while. And everyone knows Labour doesn't understand the countryside and that they were going to go after wealth rather than income. Death and taxes are inevitable and you have options.

Do you realise some farmers are now considering suicide as a means of passing on the family business intact?

Hi OP so sorry this is the news that’s been handed to you. I would absolutely seek financial advice and fast. Could the farm be placed in a trust?

for me the saddest part is what your poor dad is probably feeling. Try and get him some help so he doesn’t do anything to himself. Try and get as much information as possible from a financial adviser to see what ur options are and reassess from there.

512 - there is no huge inherited wealth!!! It’s land, not cash, used to grow stuff and create a modest income with a huge amount of effort and capital investment. How much do you think tractors /seeds / animals cost?

Unfortunately I think it’s been very deliberately thought through to achieve the dismantling of land ownership that the government is lusting after. They won’t be happy until we’re all serfs.
sell offs for housing development and to big foreign conglomerates is probably what they mean by ‘growth’, god help us.

Look at it another way, you get to own a £6 million farm for the bargain purchase price of only £1 million.

My family has paid £500 000 in care fees for our parents so our inheritance is gone too but I don't begrudge that money, better than it coming out of taxes paid by young people who can't even buy their first home.

You've called the OPs father a 'drama-llama' because he has had devastating news and is suicidal? That takes cruelty to a whole new level
You do realise that farmers have one of the highest suicide rates in this coubtry already? According to the Office of National Statistics, there were 36 suicides recorded in England and Wales among those working in the farming and agricultural industry in 2021. In addition, of the hundreds of farmers under the age of 40 surveyed by the Farm Safety Foundation early this year, 94% agreed poor mental health is the biggest hidden problem facing the industry today,

Bon journee

Absolutely nailed it.

That’s not going to help you out food on the table if farmers can no longer keep their farms. Why don’t you read the room instead of using expletives when speaking to someone in obvious distress. Jealousy is a curse.

You really dont think that a suicidal person struggling to feed themsleves on UC with absolutely no money in the bank would swap places with someone who has a 200k yearly income plus the possiblility of selling a farm (yes, that would be sad for the family) and having 5 MILLION POUNDS in the bank?

I would have little sympathy for someone sitting in a £6 million house but the budget is a disaster for farmers. Clarkson’s farm shows how many are hanging by a thread (& that isn’t sympathy for Clarkson, if you haven’t seen it he does recognise his privilege in the farming world - just shows how bloody difficult it is).

I guess farms will all end up being owned by corporates and hedge funds. Like the care sector.

These are the very people Labour is appealing to with their Robin Hood policies.

And to think Steve Reed said not long ago that there would be no changes to APR.

Farmers see themselves as custodians of the land. It is not an asset to sell. It is an opportunity to make a living for a life time and then pass it on to the next generation. Most see it as their responsibility, it is a way of life, not a job. It’s seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Sadly the OP’s father will not be the only old farmer thinking like this. They will be willing to fall on their swords in the hope it will save their life’s work and save the family farm.

So the farm couldn’t have been transferred to children earlier to future proof against future policy changes.
Or some can’t be sold off now?