Starmer’s inheritance tax fiasco led to 6,000 farming closures
Record number of agriculture businesses fold after new death duties announced
Sir Keir Starmer has presided over a record number of farming closures after his death tax on farmers made thousands of rural businesses unviable.
A total of 6,270 agriculture, forestry and fishing businesses have shut their doors since Rachel Reeves announced farming assets would be subject to 20pc inheritance tax from 2027, official figures show.
The estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which cover the year from October 2024, when the policy was announced, are the highest on record and follow the Chancellor’s maiden Budget, which imposed new death duties on farm owners and entrepreneurs.
Sir Keir was forced into a major climbdown on the policy on Tuesday following a backlash from rural voters.
The Chancellor initially set the threshold for agricultural assets that can be passed down without paying inheritance tax at £1m.
However, ministers announced on Tuesday that the threshold would rise to £2.5m, meaning couples will now be able to pass on a farming estate worth £5m to their children without incurring inheritance tax.
The ONS data also revealed that fewer entrepreneurs were willing to start new farming businesses in the wake of the tax raid.
Just 3,225 businesses in the sector were set up in the four quarters to September. That leaves a net loss of 3,045 over the period, indicating that the number of farms is shrinking at the fastest pace on record.
[…]
••••
The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)
••••
Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.
••••
Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.
••••
Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Liberty Beacon Project.
Leave a Reply