Farmer Philip Weston, of Hartwell Park Farm (Image: Philip Weston)
A farmer has spoken out about how his mental health has been affected since Rachel Reeves announced the inheritance tax raid.
Philip Weston said: “My get-up-and-go has gone, to be quite honest. I am struggling to find the reason to get up and work on the farm because I feel like I am going to lose it.”
Philip’s family have been at Hartwell Park Farm, Northamptonshire, since 1820. But the 39-year-old says the future is now uncertain.
His father died three years ago and he is now in a business partnership with his mother, but expects an inheritance tax bill of £200,000 when she dies.
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“That isn’t something we can do,” he said. “It will be split over 10 years but that is still going to be £20,000 a year.
“That is our operating profit gone. Our option to invest gone.
“We are in a really difficult situation now as we’ve always been told that tax relief was in place. We haven’t been given any real time for adjustment. This is the problem – it is so immediate.”
Philip, who is also an architect, said he would be forced to subsidise the farm from the proceeds of another business to ensure it continues.
“I am going to end up having to prop my farming business up with money I have received from other businesses but not everybody is able to do that.
“Farmers should not have to do a second job in the weekends or evenings.”
Dealerships selling equipment such as tractors and harvesters were already going out of business as farms stopped buying equipment, he warned.
“We are not going to be able to invest. Most farms have a five or 10-year turnaround on machinery. You are not going to be able to do that if you are paying your profit margin to the Government.”
A government spokesman said: “Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast.
“This Government will invest £5billion into farming over the next two years, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history. We are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce and reforming planning rules on farms to support food production.
“Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs will mean farmers will pay a reduced inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% for other businesses, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year.”