UK Farmers

[SunQueen24]

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

I do think Clarkson is treading a fine line here. He obviously has a financial interest in this and we know isn’t a generational farmer.

@AMFA also thanks for having a decent chat about it! You've actually garnered more sympathy from me for the cause now! It's good to hear both sides - thank you! I hope whatever situation you're in, you manage to get an outcome that serves you and your family (unless your Clarkson or Farage under cover haha) signing off now

RTFT
They haven’t been given 7 years it comes in in April 2026
The treasury won’t even back down on this for 80year olds as they’ve been given no warning to prepare.

Yes I agree, but Farage has a nasty habit of popping up and putting on a caring display to attempt to gain fans. Clarkson I think is trying to use his position for good, but I see your point.

There are loads of very eloquent farmers doing their best to highlight the issue all over the place, many reporting back from the protest.

I hope it makes a difference. If we get to a position where we realise what we’ve lost it’ll be too late, we’ll never get those farms and farmers back.

I'm not and never will be a Tory voter but in fairness to the Tory MPs the anti farming rhetoric hasn't been coming from them over the last decade.

Many British farmers have felt very bruised by being tarred with climate change statistics and vegan propaganda based on US industrial farming enterprises that have no resemblance to UK farming practises.

The farming protests haven't really been political until now more of a feeling of not being valued by the general public and even hated as this and other threads have shown. Its now become political as well and the whole lot has spilled over.

I am a farmer and I don't agree with the demonstrations today. Inheritance tax will make land cheaper and more available for those of us who actually want to farm not rich investors. Our farm will certainly be over the threshold for iht but with some planning we should be able to pass it on without too much tax for the next generation. The 7 year rule does apply.

Farming is getting tougher but it's foreign imports and supermarkets that are the issue as well as land that is too expensive.

Fuck Clarkson and the right wing media, they only give a shit when it affects them.

Because it disproportionately ruins people’s lives without being of any benefit except probably to big farming businesses or developers). It isn’t a case of not going on holiday or not upgrading the car to pay the extra tax. If they have to sell fields or cattle to pay of a tax bill, they can’t farm them. They also need to live on them so I don’t think they should be forced to sell their houses. At best it is ignorance, at worst it is vindictive.

I have just seen on one pic loads of reform flags and yip flags even right said Fred this to me has been hijacked by them lot. You know the ones that have made it harder to be a farmer yet funny enough not seeing any farmers denouncing these pricks

Wow, who knew so many people hated Farmers. Having lived in the countryside all my life and understand how farming works the idea that TESCO farms would be thought a good idea is scary.

Farmers are being hoodwinked.
Led into thinking that Brexit would benefit them
Now led into fighting this cause mainly on behalf of the millionaire/billionaire non farmers.
The foxes are in the henhouse and it's impossible to resolve. The rich have made land grabs to avoid tax, the government cant close this loophole without some collateral damage.

But where would the farmer live? And what would they do for work?

It's a home and a business they would be signing away.

Perhaps the children they just gave the farm to should be helping them out? Given they just got a mortgage free home to live in unlike everyone else who has to pay huge chunks of their income in rent/mortgage. Farmers pass homes down the generations saving huge amounts in living costs without paying IHT. Everyone else has to sell the beloved family home to pay IHT so why should farmers get to pass so much down tax free?

1. They don't have seven years. It applies to estates as from April 2026.
2. How does an (for example) 80 year old farmer know for certain, seven years in advance, that he is going to die before his (for example) 60 year old son?
3. Even if he does die first, how does he support himself in the intervening seven years? He cannot continue to benefit from the estate in any way whatsoever (accommodation, income) or else it will be considered a gift with reservation of benefit (GROB). This means that the estate's full value will be subject to inheritance tax, even if he lives for more than seven years.

The dad could still live in home maybe pay rent to son the farmer would be retired I would think

If he's 80 surely he should have been building up a pension to live off in retirement? Like we all do? Surely at 80 they are not in fact still running the farm, their 60 year old son is, they are just enjoying the benefit of living for free in the farmhouse.

'The farmer would be retired'

😂

You don't know many farmers do you?

No - that's not allowed under iht. What if the farmer is years away from retirement?

Yes they do have seven years unless they die now they could still sign their farm to son from today and seven years later no inheritance tax.
nobody knows anything in certain but people do this for houses
he could pay rent to live there or move to a retirement place but then don’t moan about inheritance tax this is a solution

Well then don’t sign then maybe if farmer gets to sixty do it this way the old man then moves to a retirement etc or flat etc

I understand they don’t want to but then don’t moan about inheritance tax then which 5e children hav3 ten years to pay

That's what I don't understand though - there were other more thoughtful ways to close the 'tax loophole' of people using land as IHT avoidance without punishing working farms.

Like much of the budget, rushed and ill thought through

Exploring ways to avoid tax seems to miss the point entirely - either they should or shouldn’t be taxed. If you can just avoid it it makes it all pointless anyway - theres no point debating.

@Littlemissgobby remember he won't be getting any income from the farm and wouldn't have got anything for gifting it to family. The farmer is not sitting there with millions in the bank, he might be sitting there with millions tied up in land, buildings etc. So how will he live and pay for new home?

The introduction in this tax in April 2026 doesn’t give them seven years though to prepare!!
You are avoiding the issue that farmers have not been given the same consideration and warning that we all have.

My father in law is a farmer he is retired, his son works the farm why are you laughing at this as if it is an unheard of scenario?
He has a pension and also lives off rent from properties he has acquired over the years. Maybe the farmers you know haven't been planning for their old age.