A Labour MP was left floundering on Question Time as host Fiona Bruce repeatedly asked him to answer a question about changes to farmers’ inheritance tax.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, a Cabinet Office Minister, was asked by the Ms Bruceto confirm how many farmers will be impacted by the huge increases in tax they will need to pay when passing on their farm, that saw furious protests in London earlier this week.
In response, he said that « 500 of the wealthiest a year » will be affected according to HMRC figures.
But Ms Bruce interjected Mr Thomas-Symonds – who is Paymaster General, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations – asking the Labour MP to explain how many farms would be affected overall, rather than per year.
He replied: « The Government figure is about 27% of the total, you can do that per year or in total. Per year it is around about 500. »
Ms Bruce, however, didn’t give up and continued to attempt to get the number from him. She asked again: « And overall? »
Mr Thomas-Symonds tried again to give Ms Bruce the answer she was after.
He said: « The number that would be unaffected is about 1,500 per year. »
Ms Bruce interrupted again to ask: « The question I am asking is how many farms overall. »
The Labour MP stuck by his original answer of 27%. Ms Bruce persisted saying « how many is that in numbers? ».
Mr Thomas-Symonds then repeated his answer – saying 500 will be affected each year while 1,500 would be unaffected.
In frustration, Ms Bruce then turned to the audience and asked them what their thoughts were on the exchange saying « have I got an answer to that? ».
She then asked Mr Thomas-Symonds again how many farms will be impacted overall – and asked him eight times in total – but he simply repeated his answer of 27% each year.
In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled plans to cap Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) at £1million.
With various other exemptions added, a couple will now only be able to pass down assets worth up to around £3million tax free.
Anything above this threshold would be charged at a 20% levy.
The move has sparked anger among farmers who fear their heirs will now be hit with huge inheritance tax bills when their estates are passed down, meaning they could be forced to sell the farms that have been in their families for generations.
However, the Government says most farms will not be impacted, and the policy is needed to stop wealthy people from buying up farms to avoid inheritance tax.
There has been some debate about how many farms will be impacted.
The Treasury estimates that about a quarter of farms will be affected by the changes, or around 500 a year.
But farmer groups say this figure is too low. the Country Land and Business Association claims that about 70,000 farms out of the roughly 200,000 in the UK will face inheritance bills.
Many farmers also argue that, while they are asset-rich, they are cash-poor. This could mean they will be unable to afford the hefty inheritance bills if their farms are worth more than the £3million threshold.
This week, thousands of farmers took to Westminster in their tractors to protest against the changes.
Jeremy Clarkson, star of Clarkson’s Farm, and Andrew Lloyd Webber were among the famous faces to attend.
Leader of the Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also showed their support.
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