Labour MP’s family avoids Rachel Reeves’ farming tax with move just days before Budget.uk
The transfer was carried out by the parents of Henry Tuffnell, the newly-elected 32-year-old Labour MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire.
Henry Tuffnell is one of the youngest MPs in Parliament (Image: PA/Getty)
In a move that could save them millions, the family of a Labour MP transferred their farmland just 20 days before Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced changes to inheritance tax for farmers.
The transfer was carried out by the parents of Henry Tuffnell, the newly-elected 32-year-old MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire.
Mark and Jane Tuffnell own the Calmsden estate in the Cotswolds, which holds 2,200 acres of land – but now some of the land has been transferred to a close family member, the Daily Mail reports.
The move could raise questions about whether the family had prior knowledge about the changes to inheritance tax as they could now save millions.
Farmers were previously exempt from inheritance tax, but will now only be exempt up until a threshold of £3million for a married couple passing down assets.
Henry Tuffnell with Keir Starmer at Parliament (Image: Henry Tuffnell/X)
The Daily Mail reports that the couple transferred Upper Colne Farm and Stud directly to Henry’s brother Albermarle, 22
Mr and Mrs Tuffnell’s property also boasts an tennis court, spring-fed swimming pool and ornamental gardens.
They also own properties that are located within the estate as well as a £4.4million house.
With £10,000 the rough value of an acre, the estate could have resulted in a tax liability of more than £4million.
Upper Colne is reportedly a farming business that controls around a quarter of the Calmsden Estate’s holdings. This represents £2,017,081 worth of assets.
Rachel Reeves angered farmers with the inheritance tax changes (Image: Getty)
Trending
Just a week before the Budget, Mark set up the “Tufnell 2024 Settlement” trust.
This could allow assets to be passed down to grandchildren with minimal duties.
The Tufnell’s tax planning is legal, but it has sparked anger from opponents to Labour’s ‘tractor tax’.
Shadow Welsh Secretary Mims Davies called the situation “hypocrisy of the highest order.”
He added: “Hard-working farmers and their families who are facing a real threat to their family farm will rightly feel very hard done by when it appears one of Labour’s own has managed, it seems, to be saved from this cruel tax hike,”
A source close to the family denied having any prior knowledge about the inheritance tax changes announced in the Budget.
They added: “My family is like many farming families, and you could say they are doing the exact thing that every farmer in Pembrokeshire should be doing, which is to take advice from an adviser and act on it.”
A spokesperson for Henry told The Pembrokeshire Herald: “As has been widely reported, it would seem that even Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for DEFRA, was not aware of the specific changes to APR and Business Property Relief (BPR) before the Budget was announced.
“It would, therefore, be implausible to suggest that Henry…would have this kind of knowledge prior to the Chancellor’s Budget announcements before they were made public.”
