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Multi-Million/Billionaires Owning Farms
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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).
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The british farmer is given the most grants and subsides than any other businesses in the UK. This soft notion that they keep the countryside in good shape for joe public is also rubbish.
They maintain the hedgrows because its their boundary and access to their farms and fields, without such cattle wagons, milk wagons would not be able to reach their farms or their own tractors. They keep the ditches clear because their own feilds would flood without drainage. Its no different to anyone keeping their own hedges and drains clear on a domestic property. THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS, farmers get paid up to £37 per 100 meters to trim their hedgerows AND PAID £13/14 per meter to lay new hedgerows.
Anyone who thinks the farmerss are being shafted by government should take a look at the last 15 years. Whats been their main complaint? being shafted by the supermarkets dictating to the farmers what they will pay for their produce wheather that be fruit, veg or milk. They can dictate because the big supermarkets are the only customer left to sell to, BECAUSE YOU have in turn supported the supermarket. So maybe everyone has shafted the farmer including you. You don't want to pay any more for your milk, you don't want to pay £2 for a bag of carrots or £4 for a bag of potatoes. Happy days eh.
“It amazes me that most ABers approve of these multi-millionaires avoiding paying their fair share of tax”
Are we having a debate about this – which a problem faced by family farmers - or are you just going to drone on about multi-millionaires?
They are paying their fair share. The current rate of IHT on farming land, buildings and equipment, as determined by the government, is nil. That’s how much they have been paying. From next April it will be 20% and that’s how much they will pay.
So, I’ve answered your question, so can you now answer mine:
Scenario : A farm worth £4m, worked by owner, son and grandson. All three generations and their families live on the farm. The business has a net income of around £100k a year. Grandfather dies and his will leaves the farm to his son. If the death occurs after next April the son will have to find £200,000 in order to allow the family to remain there and continue farming. Nobody is moving, No money is changing hands, Nobody is financially better off. Fair and reasonable?
“…you don't want to pay £2 for a bag of carrots or £4 for a bag of potatoes.”
I wouldn’t mind doing that – so long as most of the extra went to farmers. Farm produce is far too cheap. And much of the blame for that lies with big supermarkets. But that isn’t what this question is about.
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