Tens of thousands of farmers will descend on Westminster in their tractors tomorrow to protest at inheritance tax changes that could see them pay death duties when they hand down their farms. The government doesn’t understand the fuss. It says they are just targeting wealthy land buyers trying to dodge tax. Meanwhile the farmers argue their way of life risks being wiped out. Who’s right?
Two in five farmers are over the age of 60, so it’s not impossible the tax ends up having to be paid soon
The government says the changes ‘are expected to affect the wealthiest 500 estates each year with smaller farms not affected’ – and three-quarters of farms that currently claim reliefs would not be hit. Those figures are based on the number of claims for agricultural property relief between April 2021 and March 2022, when 462 farms worth £1 million or more claimed.
However, other estimates suggest as many as 70,000 farms could be affected.
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