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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8rlk0d2vk2o
I thought this was informative, i could be wrong though, or maybe trying to read my own opinions into it
"This brings the total untaxed amount for a farming couple to up to £3m"
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Yup, people are focussed on the fundraising aspect of this (which they like because it feels like a wealth tax) without thinking about taxes acting as behavioural levers within certain markets. Farming land isn't idle wealth, it works for its living and needs a certain economy of scale. Being able to pass it on between generations without associated tax means that farms that just about scrape by can be kept going, which is good because of food security. If those farms now have to sell off parcels of land just to be inherited then that land is going to be snapped up by exactly the kind of speculator that we want to keep away from them.
It's yet another blunt tool which catches a lot of people who are just about currently doing ok, but now won't be. It just seems like a strange effect for a left-wing government to have, essentially "sorry, you're not quite rich enough to deserve that. It'll find its way into the hands of someone who is."
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They can't build a house. Unless Dominic Cummings is in your family
This is who they are targeting, but then how did the duke of Westminster get away with such evasion.
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Agree that this is bad policy. Land prices have soared, currently nearly 10k per acre if you're anywhere down south.
Part of the reason they're soaring is because of this exemption though.
Land isn't just valuable as a farming asset and the revenues it creates, it's also become valuable as somewhere to park money and then pass on to your descendants tax free.
The policy isn't perfect and needs some tweaking on eligibility I'd say but leaving things as they are also isn't great.
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Dugtheslug
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@hazzelfrazzel
Agree that this is bad policy. Land prices have soared, currently nearly 10k per acre if you're anywhere down south. You probably need somewhere near 500 acres to make a reasonable living, so do the maths.
If farmers have to sell off some of that land to pay for their IHT bill, it's very likely to be bought by a wealthy non-farmer wanting to build a lovely huge house, further taking land out of farming.
Part of the outrage is how little time people have before the new rules apply. Older farmers who had been preparing to give the farm to one of their children feel like they've had the rug pulled out from under them and now have to desperately try to replan everything pretty quickly.
I empathise with their frustration.
FWIW, I agree with raising more tax via IHT. I think the government have got their thresholds wrong, though. I think they're accidentally going to have an impact on family farms rather than the massive landowners I think they should be targeting.