Farmer took his own life for fear of inheritance tax raid on £2m estate in Budget, son says
5 November 2024, 23:41
A farmer took his own life to avoid an inheritance tax raid following changes to the rules announced in the Budget last week, his son said.
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John Charlesworth, 78, was found dead at home in Barnsley, South Yorkshire on October 29, the day before the Budget.
His son told the Telegraph that Mr Charlesworth had been "eaten away” by the thought of his family losing their £2 million estate, which had been in the family for nearly 70 years.
Jonathan Charlesworth, 46, said of his father: "He didn’t know the details but all the scaremongering around it beforehand frightened him to death.
“He was the most kind-hearted person you’d ever meet, my Dad. He wouldn’t take any nonsense. He would do anything for anybody, I don’t think anyone had a bad word to say about my Dad.
“The battles we had guided me for the future. You couldn’t ask for better really.”
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The Chancellor used her first Budget to announce a change to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) from April 2026 in a bid to secure more money for public services.
Budget documents state the Government wants to restrict the "generosity" of APR and BPR for the "wealthiest estates".
The first £1 million of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax.
But for assets over £1 million, inheritance tax will apply with 50% relief, at an effective rate of 20%.
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Under plans announced in the Budget, inheritance tax will be charged at 20% on agricultural assets above £1 million, although Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that in some cases the threshold could in practice be about £3 million.
While the 20% figure still represents a relief of 50% compared to the standard rate, farming unions and opposition parties have criticised the move, arguing that it will make British farms uncompetitive.
The Chancellor said "only a very small number of agricultural properties" will be affected, although the National Farmers' Union warned the reforms could force farmers to sell their family farms to pay the inheritance tax bill.
Ms Reeves said many "difficult decisions" were needed in the Budget in order to fix public services and place the economy on a firmer footing.
Mr Charlesworth added of his father: “He was at a low ebb but the Budget was the final straw.
“There’s no cash and there’s no way of borrowing cash because we don’t have the income, we still don’t have the income to borrow that sort of money.
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“It was really eating at him, this Budget, because nobody knew what was going to happen. I think he just woke up in the morning and thought, ‘you know what, the Government aren’t taking our farm, I’ve worked too hard to keep this for not just me but my kids and my grandkids.
“And I think he’s just woken up in the morning and thought ‘I’m going to pre-empt the Budget, I’ve had a good life, my wife is on the way out…
“There are two houses on the farm, with 70 acres. We theoretically, with cash, could have £2 million there. If you put a 40 per cent tax over half a million, which was mooted by some people... well it’s impossible, you can’t do it.
“My advice would be that all farmers had a week and didn’t sell anything. I think that would do more than any protest in London. I think nobody appreciates what we do.”
Meanwhile the new Shadow Environment Secretary has said the "crass decision" to remove some inheritance tax relief for farms has betrayed the Government's lack of knowledge about the countryside.
Victoria Atkins said the move had "consigned family farms and businesses to being sold off and split up as families cannot afford massive tax bills".
Writing in the Telegraph, Ms Atkins said: "This is a serious mistake that Labour has made in their Budget. Their lack of understanding of the realities of farming was revealed in the crass decision to slash years of careful tax policy to keep family farms intact and protected from inheritance tax."
She suggested the move would make the UK more reliant on imports, adding: "If farmers have to set aside money for a potential tax raid rather than investing in the farm, it will no doubt impact food production, increase prices and make British farmers less competitive."
Ms Reeves has defended her proposed reforms to inheritance tax on farms by claiming it is not "affordable" to keep the current system.
