Farmer 'forced to sell land' to pay Reeves' new tax

A FARMER forced to sell part of his land to afford Rachel Reeves’s inheritance tax raid warned of the “struggle” ahead to keep his business alive.

- BY STEPH SPYRO Deputy Political Editor

After the Great War, Henry Brooks worked on the farm, which was later bought by his son Geoff, who is now 91

Richard Brooks, who has a Royal Warrant for supplying hay to the monarch, is between £500,000 to £1million over the government’s new threshold for inheritance tax.

The third-generation grower of premium horse food, based in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, told how his family has farmed the land for 108 years but its future is at risk.

He said: “My grandfather rented the farm when he came out after the Great War and then my father subsequently bought it.

“I want to pass on to the next generation. We want to make it to 250 years. But a combination of economics and policies at the moment make it a struggle.”

He added: “Prior to the U-turn on the tax threshold, my wife and I were really looking at whether it is time to call it a day which would have been tragic because my son wants to come back and farm.”

Father-of-two Richard, 61, spent around £10,000 navigating Labour’s initial policy and selling 42 acres of land to afford the Chancellor's proposed tax hike on farmers.

But Labour’s watered-down plans will now see the relief threshold raised from £1m to £2.5m when it comes into force in April.

This followed months of protests and warnings over farmers contemplating suicide to avoid the taxes as they pass their businesses from generation to generation.