Farmland: A growing investment | Money Matters | FT.com.
This article highlights what is so wrong about the UK.
Tax driven incentives for 'investment' are being used to divert scarce government revenue into tax avoidance creating artificial bubbles in so called investment media - in this case agricultural land - which add nothing to the real value of the economy but which force out those who are best placed to employ these resources - in this case farmers.
There is a simple solution to this abuse - which is to limit total claims for allowances and reliefs over and above the basic personal allowance to a sum not exceeding £5,000 when gross income for tax purposes (i.e. before any such allowances are offset) exceeds £100,000.
The benefits are obvious: the tax system is simplified, tax ceases to drive resource misallocation, asset bubbles are avoided and more tax is collected. I call that a quadruple whammy.
Bring it on, as I think some say.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
No, there is a really simple answer – Land Value Tax.
@Jock
If only life were so simple
Now that EU subsidies are applied by acreage, and are enjoyed by the landowner rather than the farmer, the subsidy feeds directly into land values. With a full annual LVT the whole subsidy could be creamed off by the govt. A tenant farmer now pays his ground rent to the landowner. It would surely be better if it was paid to the state.
Not convinced that you’ve identified the right tax there.
1) Farmland is not subject to IHT. Thus it’s a great way to pass on a fortune.
2) Farm subsidies now are not connected to production, just to ownership (and modest environmental requirements). As Ricardo pointed out all those years ago, an increase in the rent from land (which such subsidies are) w3ill lead to a rise in the capital value.
Tim
I note all you can do is promote further tax abuse
But you’re right on Ricardo
Richard