INHERITANCE TAX RISE ON FARMS IN ‘FAIR AND BALANCED’ SAYS CABINET MINISTER
THE rise in inheritance tax on farms announced in the Budget is “fair and balanced”, according to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.
Speaking on GB News, she said: “I think we have taken a fair and balanced approach to this, and the vast majority of the estates won’t be affected.
“Dependent upon personal circumstances, if you’re a couple, for example, you could pass £3 million pounds on tax free. I know that the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Office for Budget Responsibility have looked at this and have confirmed the government’s figures on this debate.
“There are some very wealthy landowners out there who have basically used this system. I think those with the broadest shoulders need to make the biggest contribution. We’ve got a very tough financial situation at the moment.
“We inherited this £22 billion black hole, massive in-year overspends as soon as we came into government and we had a choice to take.
“We could either go down the path of Liz Truss and cause absolute mayhem in the economy, which was what happened a couple of years ago when the markets lost confidence in her, or we could wipe the slate clean, take some difficult decisions, prioritise investing in public services, and that’s what the Chancellor did.
“We’ve also, I would also point out to your viewers, that we have allocated £5 billion to spend on sustainable farming, and I think that’s really important. But, you know, some difficult decisions had to be taken.”
She was also asked if it was right for MPs to claim for energy bills on expenses: “I didn’t personally claim any expenses for fuel when I was an MP previously, I never did do that, and I haven’t done that since I was elected to Parliament.
“But the expenses are there in order to enable MPs to live in London and live in their constituency and so it’s reasonable that things like Council Tax or heating the home that you’re living in, it is part of your job. Those expenses enable you to do the job.
“When it comes to winter fuel allowance, I didn’t stand at the election thinking that this was going to be something that we were doing within the first few weeks. It’s not something we wanted to do.
“What we have done, though, is have a massive campaign to increase the uptake of pension credit, because there are a huge number of people out there in the country who are entitled to pension credit, which would then unlock the automatic payment of winter fuel allowance, we need to get those people who are eligible for pension credit on pension credit.
“The other thing we’ve done is also extend the household support fund available to councils so that people who are just above the limit for pension credit can actually apply to their local authority if they’re in hardship and if they are struggling with the cost.”
