Today's analysis by @DanNeidle.bsky.social of the changes to farm inheritance taxation is worth reading if you're interested in why this is so contentious. An unintended side-effect is to reinforce the impression that the Treasury rushed this without understanding it. taxpolicy.org.uk/202... - ThreadSky

roberthutton.co.uk • 94 days ago

Today's analysis by @DanNeidle.bsky.social of the changes to farm inheritance taxation is worth reading if you're interested in why this is so contentious. An unintended side-effect is to reinforce the impression that the Treasury rushed this without understanding it.
https://taxpolicy.org.uk/2024/11/24/how-to-stop-iht-avoidance-but-protect-farmers/

Comments

roberthutton.co.uk•94 days ago

In particular, as all the wise people on here have pointed out, farmers should obviously all just sell up and stay in bed in the morning. If that's what the govt wants, it should say so. But ministers insist this isn't what they want. They may not understand their own policy.

nmwilkinson.bsky.social•94 days ago

Ha, yeah. In the end, isn't the solution here to make farming a viable business, rather than forced over-valuing farmland assets thanks to their tax exempt status?

roberthutton.co.uk•94 days ago

Yes, this is what the govt says, but it's not clear to me how we achieve that: I can't see MPs of any stripe supporting, say, more expensive food.

nmwilkinson.bsky.social•94 days ago

first stop, regulate buying contracts of supermarkets. they have way too much power in the relationship and screw farmers pretty much as hard as they possibly can

nmwilkinson.bsky.social•94 days ago

next stop, use public sector procurement to support farmers who are "doing it right" (whatever that may mean according to policy aims e.g. soil regeneration or whatever)

even just school food is a huge market currently full of crap food, and with almost no attempt to use as a strategic policy lever

roberthutton.co.uk•94 days ago

This does sound good, but how much cash is there on the table that could be passed to farmers without prices rising?

btclarabel.bsky.social•94 days ago

But to do this we would need to accept that those public services will cost more and supply that funding - schools are cut to the bone and don't have money to buy a more premium product.

swimtwobirds.bsky.social•94 days ago

We’re still only talking roughly 500-1000 land esates correct? I mean, Jesus Christ - try and (correctly) tax some very wealthy English people and watch British media explode.

roberthutton.co.uk•94 days ago

Can I suggest that, before replying to a post suggesting people read an interesting report, you read the interesting report? Your replies are then much more likely to be interesting themselves!

swimtwobirds.bsky.social•94 days ago

Yes I did have a look. That bar chart has been around for a few days. They had a IHT exemption. They no longer do. It’s 20% not 40%, they get a decade to pay it, & in 2021 it affects less than 250 estates. Why does anyone give a shit? It raises a chunk of a billion annually. The state could use it.

roberthutton.co.uk•94 days ago

If you've read the report, you'll have found the answers to your questions in it. Very happy to have been able to help you.

swimtwobirds.bsky.social•94 days ago

Fnar. I just think, at its core, this is a group of people with across to establishment / media levers kicking off because they’re being taxed when they were never expecting anyone to have the temerity. In the end no tax policy is perfect, there’ll be edge cases, but those estates *should* be taxed.

aloner.bsky.social•94 days ago

📌

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