Inheritance tax for farmers to kick in at £2.5m in government U-turn – UK politics live

Previous policy would have led to inheritance tax being levied on farms valued at over £1mWhen the government first announced its plan to extend inheritance tax to farms, it said that this would raise around £520m a year from 2028-29.The government has not said today how much its U-turn will cost, or where the extra money will come from, but it claims it will still be able to make “the majority” of the savings orginally planned. It says:The changes we are implementing reflects the concerns that have been raised while preserving the majority of the revenue from reform to help cut debt and borrowing and fund public services. The costings for today’s announcement will be incorporated into the next OBR forecast.Farmers are at the heart of our food security and environmental stewardship, and I am determined to work with them to secure a profitable future for British farming.We have listened closely to farmers across the country and we are making changes today to protect more ordinary family farms. We are increasing the individual threshold from £1m to £2.5m which means couples with estates of up to £5m will now pay no inheritance tax on their estates. Continue reading...