- Over 9000 farms in Labour constituencies could be hit by “tractor tax” as Lib Dems call on govt to scrap the hike
- Partygate comments: Clear the Conservative party hasn’t learnt anything
Over 9000 farms in Labour constituencies could be hit by “tractor tax” as Lib Dems call on govt to scrap the hike
An estimated 9,079 farms in Labour constituencies could be hit by the “tractor tax” Liberal Democrat analysis has revealed. Liberal Democrats have called on the government to scrap the planned changes to inheritance tax relief for farms announced in this week’s Budget.
The worst affected Labour seats were Penrith and Solway with an estimated 450 farms hit by the changes, Derbyshire Dales with 344, and Hexham with 317.
On average 26 farms per constituency in Labour seats could be affected, which is significantly lower than the number for other parties. The Conservatives will see an average of 103, and the Lib Dems an average of 97.
The worst hit constituencies in the country were Torridge and Tavistock with 547 farms hit, followed by South Shropshire and Central Devon with 530 and 526 respectively.
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to “scrap the tractor tax or risk losing the next generation of farmers”.
Liberal Democrat Environment spokesperson, Tim Farron MP, said:
The government urgently needs to scrap their tractor tax or risk losing the next generation of family farmers.
Farmers have borne the brunt of years of Conservative party neglect, hammering them with botched trade deals and cuts to their incomes.
For the new government to deliver another blow with this new tax hike is completely unthinkable.
The Chancellor needs to urgently rethink these proposals, scrap the tractor tax and take on the Liberal Democrat plans to give farmers a £1 billion boost in support.
Partygate comments: Clear the Conservative party hasn’t learnt anything
Responding to Kemi Badenoch’s comments about Partygate being overblown, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:
It’s clear the Conservative Party haven’t learnt anything from the years of sleaze and scandal under their watch.
Kemi Badenoch’s comments are an insult to those who lost family members during the pandemic while Boris Johnson partied and lied.
On day one of the job she’s already shown she’s completely out of touch with the public.
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6 Comments
“Tractor tax” is a poor label for the inheritance tax changes.
The real need is to link with campaign to help young farmers to take on a farm. Which also means we need to encourage the elderly farmers clinging on to their farms to pass the farm on before they die.
I suggest full inheritance tax should be levied on farm sales to land banks/developers (*) and other entities that do not intend to farm the land themselves.
(*) land sold to developers should be subject to 40% duty on the difference between agricultural land value and central london land values.
So, not only does Tim Farron want to exempt farmers from paying inheritance tax ( a far more generous inheritance tax system than the rest of the country pays) he wants to give them a bonus of £1billion..
It’s lucky that this country can afford it; especially when we can’t afford to fix crumbling schools, hospitals, etc..
As for the ‘Tractor Tax’ label, I expect such hype from the Mail/Express not from a sensible politician..
Whatever you call it the inheritance tax hit on farmers is the wrong way to ensure that the country has a sound base to produce the food that we need . Farm land fortunes are a result of soaring land values based upon the need for more housing. Nothing whatsoever to do with farming. Review and change is needed for certain.
The Labour Govt. seems to take an issue (or not) and completely mess up in attempting to deal with it.
@David Garlic – and reinstating the IHT exemption for farmers is the wrong way to ensure that the country has a sound base to produce the food that we need. A tax that only becomes due after death doesn’t affect any farm’s day-to-day running costs right now.
We could rejoin the EU for a start….
And apologies to David Garlick for getting his name wrong in the previous post…
Once again we seem to have fallen into automatic opposition, on a very thin basis.
Most estimates are that less than 500 Landowners a Year will be hit by this, mostly very big Landowners.
The reason that Farming Land values have risen is that Big Money has been buying it up as a Tax/Inheritance dodge. The Government proposal is partly aimed at discouraging that.
I don’t see how our position on this fits with our values.