Drill down into their assets though and they have: modest sheep flock and attendant land, equipment etc, large family home, profitable machining and engineering business, separate from the farm, 4 other properties that they let their children live in rent free or rent out to other tenants.

I do think that the government is using a hammer to tighten a screw, but my sympathy ends for farmers when they're hoarding assets to that degree and that isn't even particularly large when I compare it to some of the families I work for. One I can name employs around 200 people in a major dairy operation with dozens of old family farms consolidated into the ownership of 3 siblings.

Land and farm assets like animals, equipment etc should be exempt so that they're not just bought up by corporations. The rest should be subject to the same level of taxation as the rest of the country has to pay.

[–] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 6 points 1 week ago

The corporations should just be taxed twice as heavily on it, reducing tax isn't the answer to prevent corporations buying up the farms. As they don't die, corporations should just have to pay 'inheritance' tax every 50 years.