Quizzes & Puzzles2 mins ago
Hypocrisy Of The Highest Order?
The timing of the transactions by a Labour MP's family has raised questions about potential foreknowledge of Labour's tax plans'
Henry Tufnell's family transferred valuable farmland just 20 days before the party's Budget introduced controversial inheritance tax changes affecting farmers.
The move could save the family millions in future tax liabilities under new rules targeting agricultural land.
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NAOMI, it's not nonsense. You're acting as if there had been nothing at all known about the proposals until the actual Budget.
The final details may not have been known but prior to the Budget there was talk of no Inheritance Tax relief at all being given to farmers or perhaps of £500,000 being the maximum relief.
Prior to the Budget, the CLA had urged its members to send a template letter to their MP asking them not to support any changes to the current arrangements.
As NJ has already stated the changes won't begin until the 2026 tax year so there is time still to make arrangements to reduce any future tax liabilities.
We don't know whether Henry Tufnell used confidential information or whether he initiated any tax avoidance measure, We also don't know how many other farmers took similar measures at around this time.
I think it's quite likely that the more alert tax advisors coild see that tax changes like this were a real possibility under a Labour Government who had talked about large financial shortfalls but were commited to keeping income tax and NI rates unchanged so would clearly have to look at other areas- and most commentators were saying IHT, CGT and allowances were likely targets (much more so than say the WFA removal which took nearly everyone by surprise).
There were reports the DEFRA Secretary of State was telt about the changes only the day before the Budget.
That doesn't mean that he and others were unaware of some sort of change being in the pipeline.
There are always rumours about proposed changes in any upcoming Budget and not all of them turn out to be accurate.
That means that some folk will take action prior to a Budget, just to be on the safe side and it doesn't imply they were privy to all the details.
Hymie- the thread is about alleged hypocricy not about the rights and wrongs of tax avoidance.
Tax avoidance done legally is generally fine ....but surely you would you agree that it does stink if an MP used confidential insider information and his family benefited financially (by a huge amount) from it. Of course that doesn't seem to have happened here and it would be hard to prove even if it did.
As it turned out, yes- but maybe he had only partial information via insider dealing and acted on that.
But you said
//One minute TTT is extolling the virtues of legally minimising any tax liability – but when it happens to be Labourites engaged in such behaviour, it stinks to high-heaven.//
It is hypocrisy if his public position was that the rich (including farmer) should pay more tax via IHT. And it would stink to high heaven IF someone (from any party) benefits or seeks to benefit from insider information (whether partial or full info.)
I'm pretty sure you get it really.
