UK Farmers

[SunQueen24]

Can someone please explain to me what today is all about?

It seems to me that the main complaint of the farmers is that the farm will have to be sold in order to pay IHT, if it is valuable enough, i.e. it is an impediment to their offspring taking on the family business. If the farm is sold, it seems more than likely that the land will continue to be used for farming - just not by the original owner’s family. This, I would argue, is not a good enough reason to give farmers a massive exemption from taxes everyone else has to pay.

Given we’ve had to suck up VAT on school fees and IHT on pension pots, it doesn’t seem too much to ask that a smallish percentage of very asset rich farmers might have to share the load.

And don’t get me started on all the fake green welly Brexit brigade who are out there cheering them on and who’ve probably caused more damage to rural livelihoods than this tax change ever will.

Just to challenge the myth that all farmers voted for Brexit- whilst it's impossible to know for sure, the best estimates put it at 53% voting leave and 45% voted remain. So yes a small majority did vote for Brexit.

But to put this into context more men voted leave than remain at 55 to 45% so you could equally claim that all the men adversely affected by Brexit got what they deserved.

westcountryvoices.co.uk/challenging-the-myth-that-farmers-voted-for-brexit-and-therefore-deserve-whats-coming-to-them/

I can’t get over how some people, in the fear that someone might have something more than they do, would sell off their own food security.
Not all countries are fortunate enough to have food security, we very lucky to have what we do, and I am eternally grateful to our farmers.
Yet from what I can see a significant number of people would pull the rug up from under their own feet out of spite, and envy.
At a time too, when there is political instability and war - I would have thought having resources to grow food is extremely valuable for to us all.
To those people who would sell the farmers out - you won’t get anything if the farmers are forced to sell the land- quite the opposite. Likely black rock and other mega corporations will buy it and stick houses/ wind farms on it and make a tidy sum- what you going to eat then?

It’s so difficult to buy land without having deep pockets like a developer.

How does this affect the huge estates - such as, Duchy of Cornwall and the Duke of Beccleuch estates?

Is the UK food secure? Isn’t it nearer 62% when is it classed as insecure?

I wouldn’t sell farmers out I just wouldn’t automatically exempt them all from tax.

Except is it £3m tax-free and then 20% of anything over that.

But, as far as I understand it, it's 20% over £1 million, if you don't have a spouse or an expensive farm house? I may have misunderstood this.

@Missymoo100 can you explain in black and white how this tax will sacrifice food security? Read this whole thread and am struggling to understand this point?

I see Jeremy Clarkson, Farage and other right-wing MPS stirring the pot at this protest, but yet to hear why this shouldn't be bought in?

I have heard for years that farmers are struggling, so why have they not been protesting for years about this? What were the benefits that Brexit was going to bring them? Has there been a benefit? Why do they all worship at the alter of Farage?

Tell me you know fuck all about farming without telling me you know fuck all about farming.

Not enough emojis in the world to deal with the current ignorance around farming.

Yeah it's a lot less than it was 40 years ago. Soil quality has also declined by 20% since then. And I think we've all seen how "food secure" the UK is these past five years LOL.

Am not altogether keen on giving multi million tax breaks to such custodians.

I wouldn’t sell farmers out I just wouldn’t automatically exempt them all from tax.

if taxing the asset (land) prohibits their ability to farm, then for the relatively paltry sum the government would raise from them- I’d rather they keep it and continue to grow our food. It’s money well spent if you ask me because they are providing an invaluable service. I don’t think you can put a price on being able to feed the population.

And also @Missymoo100 a lot of farmers have already sold their land to big business/corporations/businessmen JC being one of them! Hilarious that if he hadn't bought all this land to avoid inheritance tax, he wouldn't even be at this protest!

You obviously don’t know them very well if you don’t even know what today is about!

It doesn't. They are rich enough to be able to use various legal methods to avoid inheritance tax completely. IHT is avoidable only if you are wealthy enough.

@AMFA tell us? Tell us mere mortals what we're missing! Your spokespeople are Farage and Clarkson. I didn't realise either of them were established farmers?

Because if they give away the farm, and the child(ren) then assume bona fide possession by virtue of living on it, farming it, earning a living from it etc., then the 7 year rule will apply and no IHT will be due.

If it in't supermarkets, it will be large investment firms. UK food production is ultimately competing in a worldwide market. If they don't produce cheaper food, ti will simlpy be bought from Asia or Africa instead.

@Aaron95 why aren't farmers protesting this then? I don't get it!

Why make it harder for them to keep farming then by charging IHT on their land?

If it was a corporation they don’t pay tax on assets until the asset is sold, - so I see why farmers should have to sell an asset essential to their lively hood whilst it is still in use for food production?

Large investment firms don’t own or manage large parts of the food chain.

It's better than that:

"In Cornwall, when an individual dies with no will or surviving relatives their property (or 'estate') passes to The Duke of Cornwall. The same is true on the dissolution of a company registered in Cornwall where any remaining assets pass to The Duke of Cornwall"

So, not only do they pay no IHT, they get to hoover up the assets of people they've never even met.

I have heard for years that farmers are struggling, so why have they not been protesting for years about this?

Try doing a job 7 days a week with few breaks, hours every day, no time off unless you’re able to find someone to take your place and trust them with your livelihood. Find the time to deal with the shit you deal with day in day out and on top of that organise amongst yourselves to go out and protest.
Suicide is three times higher than the national average for farmers - it’s not a privileged lifestyle by any stretch.

The British people are not like the French, who are incredible at standing up for themselves. But I suspect if farmers are pushed much more we’ll see more chaos as they rightly defend their land.

You also mention brexit in your post - polls found that farmers voted in line with the rest of the population, they were not a huge boost for the brexit vote.

Honestly the sheer ignorance around farming is staggering, considering we rely on them to produce the food we eat!!

@ClaudiaWankleman and where does the parent live and where does their income come from? They have given away their home and livelihood