Jeremy Clarkson has slammed the Chancellor’s decision that inheritance tax relief for farms will be limited to £1m.
Rachel Reeves announced in the Budget that agricultural property relief was being abolished, claiming it was increasingly being used by the very wealthy to protect their assets from tax.
Agricultural property relief and business property relief have allowed farm businesses to be passed to the next generation without incurring inheritance tax charges, which they would be unable to pay without selling up.
Mr Clarkson, who owns Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington, posted on X, telling farmers not to despair but "just look after yourselves for five short years and this shower will be gone".
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Writing in his Sunday Times column Mr Clarkson said the policy was “born of bitterness and envy”.
Farmers. I know that you have been shafted today. But please don’t despair. Just look after yourselves for five short years and this shower will be gone.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) October 30, 2024
“In their minds, most of the countryside is owned by the Duke of Marlborough," he wrote.
But “while they’re going after land owned by dukes and hedge-fund managers, Britain’s farmers seem to have been caught in the crossfire”.
He said: “Thousands and thousands of farms right across the British Isles are being run by people who learnt everything from their dad and will pass all they know on to their kids.
“But is that going to be possible anymore? Because now, when Dad dies, there will be a tax bill. And the only possible way of paying it will be by selling up.”
The move has caused a considerable backlash from farming and countryside communities, and led to a dispute over just how many farms and farm businesses would be affected.
Opposition MPs have called on the Government to reverse the measure.
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The government said the change was only expected to affect around 2,000 estates each year and it would be maintaining the £2.4bn farming budget for England in 2025/26.
Food Security Minister Daniel Zeichner said: “Our commitment to farmers and the vital role they play to feed our nation remains steadfast."
Mr Clarkson has become a vocal supporter of the farming industry since launching his TV series Clarkson's Farm in 2021.
The show has been praised for capturing the harsh realities of farming life and Mr Clarkson uses local produce and offers free pints of his Hawkstone Lager to farmers at his pub The Farmer's Dog near Burford.
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