Farmer Focus: Betrayed and disgusted by Labour Budget

The dominant subject around the kitchen table has been the impact of the Budget. This Labour government has given us and many farming businesses a mountain to climb.

I am of course talking about the changes to agricultural and business property reliefs (APR and BPR, respectively).

Other announcements affecting our business, such as the employer national insurance increase, the increase to national living wage and so on, will increase overheads, but I am confident we will cope with them. 

See also: Farmers Weekly Podcast Ep 229: Budget uproar – call for peaceful protest

About the author

Jack Bosworth

Livestock Farmer Focus writer Essex pig farmer Jack Bosworth farms 263ha of arable and a 540-sow farrow-to-finish operation in partnership with his family. About 60% of pigs are finished at home and 150 are sent to a farm in Norfolk to finish on a bed and breakfast contract.

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However, the APR and BPR impact could break our family farming business, which then has a knock-on effect to not only us, but just as importantly, our staff, our suppliers, and our customers.

My feelings watching the Budget were of anger, betrayal and disgust. Having had further time to reflect and go to a few talks that followed the announcements, my feelings have not changed.

We have a positive attitude towards sustained growth in all areas of the business and continue to pay our fair share of tax along the way, which is fine.

The more successful you are, the more tax you pay. It seems justified. None of it seems to be a reason (in my mind) not to grow the balance sheet. However, the latest Budget is.

We don’t know when people will pass away and in what order, so how do we decide who owns what to ensure a viable business is always left behind?

The return on investment on assets such as agricultural land cannot absorb an inheritance tax (IHT) bill at current costs of production, market prices and interest rates, so there is no doubt that these announcements will change this family farming business that I am so proud to be a current custodian of.

Will my son, niece, or nephew have the chance to do the same if they wish? There are serious doubts now. The sale of assets to pay an IHT bill leave a previously viable farming business more than likely unviable.

So, what’s the plan? We are taking advice on how we can prepare ourselves for these changes, but it is so hard to stomach that our livelihoods, our business viability and our attitude towards growth can swing so dramatically depending on who is in government.

What an advert for stabilising the economy!