Suicide of farmer in fear of Budget inheritance tax

A FARMER killed himself the day before the Budget after weeks of worrying about looming changes to inheritance tax, an inquest has heard.

- By Katie Dickinson

John Charlesworth’s son said he believed his “typical Yorkshireman” father wanted to “beat” the Government’s proposals and “save the farm for future generations”.

Mr Charlesworth, 78, who went by his middle name Philip, was found dead by son Jonathan, 47, in a barn at their farm in Silkstone, Barnsley, on October 29 last year.

Sheffield Coroner’s Court heard Mr Charlesworth had been struggling to care for his wife, who had severe dementia and cancer.

The hearing was told in the months before Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget he had been “growing more and more anxious about inheritance tax and the implications for the farm”.