The withdrawal of inheritance tax relief on farmland is having the desired effect - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Doug Clark, Cononley, Keighley.

Based on recent research, the controversial withdrawal of inheritance tax relief on farmland, dubbed as the 'family farm tax' by The Yorkshire Post and others, is having the desired effect of deterring rich people from buying farmland to minimise their tax bill.

According to land agents Strutt and Parker, the proportion of farmland bought by 'lifestyle buyers' fell to 11 per cent, down from 16 per cent the year before. In addition, the Knight Frank Farmland Index showed that agricultural land sold in England and Wales in 2025 fell by an average of 5 per cent compared to 2024.

This can only be a good thing for genuine farmers wishing to expand and any prospective new farmers who find the astronomical costs of farmland a huge barrier.

This hasn't been reported widely, including by The Yorkshire Post, probably because the narrative is controlled by those with vested interests including the Country Land and Business Association and the NFU who disproportionally represent large landowners, including some of those 'lifestyle' farmers such as James Dyson, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Clarkson.