Multi-Million/Billionaires Owning Farms

[Hymie]

I used to wonder why so many super-wealthy individuals (such as James Dyson) and a number of rock/pop stars/celebrities developed an interest in farming (in the UK) once they had loads of cash to spare.

 

For instance, Dyson owns around 36,000 acres of farmland, reportedly worth over half a billion pounds.  I wonder how often he travels from Singapore to oversee this operation, given his interest in being a farmer.

 

I was unaware that the reason these super-rich individuals invest in farms; is that there is zero inheritance tax on the investment – even a 20% tax rate over £1 million still looks an attractive option – but not to farmers.

 

Watch Clarkson berate the BBC (Victoria Derbyshire) for suggesting he purchased his farm to avoid inheritance tax (classic BBC, as Clarkson points out).

 

[gulliver1]

Barney 4444 @ 10.10 I agree with you on that one. I Think Hymie should have been an MP.

[barney4444]

^ Whoosh!

Must be a technical term from Naomi, I am not clever enough to grasp.  

[naomi24]

Probably.

[gulliver1]

11.50 Spot on Barney.   Best Answer.

[Hymie]

NJ – OK let’s say that a relative was living with the unfortunate young man who died – that would not have made the inheritance exempt from IHT – even if he’d had a window box.

 

The family would still have had to sell the flat to pay the tax, unlike had the young man bought a farm.

[Clone]

Barney 4444 @ 10.10 I agree with you on that one. I Think Hymie should have been an MP

 

 

That would be hilarious.

"My next point Mr Speaker will be brought to you via YouTube and it's from my mate Phil "

[New Judge]

"The family would still have had to sell the flat to pay the tax, unlike had the young man bought a farm."

Quite so.

And, as I said, that's not right. TThe Labour governmen's way (and yours, itt seems) to address these injustices is to ensure everybody pays. In fact they should be exploring ways to ensure that nobody pays.

I gave an example in another thread where a rich uncle might have left me a valuable (£1m) painting. All I wanted to do with it was to hang it on the wall to remind me of him. But in order for him to leave it to me his executors would have to have it valued and pay the Exchequer £400k. 

Yes, I know he could have "gifted" it to me more than 7 years before his death, but why should he? Why should the Treasury receive £400k when all that had happened is the painting was moved from one house to another?

It's a scandalous state of affairs and is designed to make sure that accumulated wealth is not passed down the generations without the government taking a cut. There is no justification for it but that's more of a rant about IHT in general, which is off topic.

As far as this question goes, the government is imposing a levy on a farming family because one of them has died - it's as simple as that. The family may not have the sum demanded which can be considerable. Even a farm worth only £4m - which is not a lot when the land, buildings and equipment is considered - will attract a tax bill of £200,000.

They are doing that because they cannot see the difference between a small family farm and a billionaire who is simply buying up land to avoid tax. It's lazy, it's indiscriminate and it will eventually lead to many family farms simply being consumed by wealthy landowners.

As well as that it will raise (in the overall scheme of things) very little. That sum is estimated to be between £115m (according to the LibDems) and  £520m (according o tteh government). That is between two weeks and two months of the hotel bill for small boat arrivals.

[ToraToraTora]

I don't think this is anything to do with raising revenue it's a class war on those that don't vote labour.

[davebro3]

Yes Labour are getting their own back for 14 years in the wilderness! Just vindictiveness.

[mushroom25]

perhaps unfortunate that the metropolitan elite (who all live within a 10mn busride of each other in Islington) believe that the word "farmer" is synonymous with the phrase "filthy rich".

anyone on here old enough to know who Hannah Hauxwell was, or indeed saw the Yorkshire TV documentary on her farm in 1973?

perhaps that's something representing the other extreme. but a situation where those on farms live in the summer but only exist in the winter, is a situation all too familiar with many who live on smallholdings.

[Hymie]

It amazes me that most ABers approve of these multi-millionaires avoiding paying their fair share of tax – leaving the burden of paying for public services on the less well off.

[naomi24]

Hymie, are you not reading the responses you're getting?  We're talking about working farmers.  

[Deskdiary]

I approve of anybody legitimately avoiding tax - we should all avoid as much tax as possible.

 

If you had a £100 tax bill but could legitmately avoid half of it, you would. Having an ISA is tax avoidance.

[Hymie]

Why should working multi-millionaires be exempt from IHT?

[nicebloke1]

Poor old Jeremy thought he had cracked it buying a farm, whats options does he have left, order a lorry load of biscuit tins I guess and cram his cash in them and bury them on the land. don't forget to invest in a metal detector :o)

[naomi24]

I think inheritance tax should be abolished.  

[Deskdiary]

Jesus - you are exasperating.

 

This is about normal working farmers, not multi-millionaires like Dyson or Clarkson.

[nicebloke1]

Our Youkshire farm a small farm. Amanda had 9 kids you don't have 9 kids if you are a struggling farmer. You don't even have the time to have kids, do you? ;0))

[Hymie]

This tax loop-hole was introduced in 1992, allowing the likes of Dyson, Clarkson, etc to avoid paying tax – for generations before that, farmers managed to pass their farm to their offspring without kicking-up a fuss.

 

Maybe the super-rich buying up farms (for tax purposes) has made the whole farming business in the UK more difficult.

[max137]

Hymie should look to his beloved EU where Dutch farmers are  being forced of their land,I bet starmer and his cronies have it covered.