Mark Dolan has fiercely defended Britain's farmers as commentator Amy Nickell-Turner claimed Labour's inheritance tax blow to agricultural workers is "fair".
In this week's Budget, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the Government confirmed an effective rate of 20 per cent will be imposed on farms worth over £1million, where previously they were exempt.
Expressing their outrage at the decision, the National Farmers' Union announced a strike in Westminster later this month - with one farmer telling GB News that there could be "economic chaos", warning of farmers "downing tools" and "withholding food" from leaving their farms.
Debating the inheritance tax measure on Friday Night Live, Nickell-Turner sparked a heated debate after claiming that farmers are now paying their "fair share" of inheritance tax.
Hitting back at Nickell-Turner, host Mark Dolan argued that farmers "need to be spoken up for because they feed the nation".
Nickell-Turner told GB News: "The cap is £1million, and that doesn't include the farmhouse, that's on the business profits of the farm. So it's basically farms over £2million that will be taxed, and that rules out 87 per cent of farms that will not be affected by lifting this cap.
"If another business is going to be subject to 40 per cent inheritance tax, then it seems fair to me that the 13 per cent of farms with a profit over £2million can be subject to a 20 per cent tax. They can pay their fair share of inheritance tax."
Mark then interjected: "That's not a lot for a farm. What about the 13 per cent? Do they not matter? Those are the people that make food for the country."
Criticising how the inheritance tax move has been reported on, Nickell-Turner claimed that the plans have been "miscommunicated" in the "same vein as the winter fuel allowance".
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Disagreeing with Nickell-Turner, Mark asked the GB News panel: "So why has Ed Balls, Labour stalwart, criticised it, saying this hasn't been thought through? And why are farmers considering a blockade of Parliament with their tractors?"
Nickell-Turner claimed: "All of you have kind of implied that all farmers are going to have their land ripped away from them the second they pass away."
Mark hit back: "Some of them will have to break the farm up when dad dies or mum dies. How is that conscionable?"
Nickell-Turner responded: "But have you actually taken into account that we're not talking about the farmhouse, that is separate. We're talking about the farm land, only the land, over £2million. This is a fair tax."
Delivering his verdict on the tax decision, Mark told GB News: "Here's the principle. A family farm and farming is different, and I think farming is generational. And if a farm is a family farm, it should stay that way, ad infinitum.
"And that land will then always be used for the production of food, which is actually what we need in this country post-Brexit.
"And with the eco disaster that we're all worried about, we need to be making our own food. That ain't going to happen if farmland no longer is the domain of families."
Find Out More...
In this week's Budget, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the Government confirmed an effective rate of 20 per cent will be imposed on farms worth over £1million, where previously they were exempt.
Expressing their outrage at the decision, the National Farmers' Union announced a strike in Westminster later this month - with one farmer telling GB News that there could be "economic chaos", warning of farmers "downing tools" and "withholding food" from leaving their farms.
Debating the inheritance tax measure on Friday Night Live, Nickell-Turner sparked a heated debate after claiming that farmers are now paying their "fair share" of inheritance tax.
Hitting back at Nickell-Turner, host Mark Dolan argued that farmers "need to be spoken up for because they feed the nation".
Nickell-Turner told GB News: "The cap is £1million, and that doesn't include the farmhouse, that's on the business profits of the farm. So it's basically farms over £2million that will be taxed, and that rules out 87 per cent of farms that will not be affected by lifting this cap.
"If another business is going to be subject to 40 per cent inheritance tax, then it seems fair to me that the 13 per cent of farms with a profit over £2million can be subject to a 20 per cent tax. They can pay their fair share of inheritance tax."
Mark then interjected: "That's not a lot for a farm. What about the 13 per cent? Do they not matter? Those are the people that make food for the country."
Criticising how the inheritance tax move has been reported on, Nickell-Turner claimed that the plans have been "miscommunicated" in the "same vein as the winter fuel allowance".
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- Farmer warns of STRIKE action and 'economic chaos' after Labour's Budget blow: 'It's a liability!'
- Labour minister defends inheritance tax changes despite furious backlash from farmers
- Farmer facing ‘monumental’ inheritance tax bill blasts Rachel Reeves: ‘D-Day for agriculture’
Disagreeing with Nickell-Turner, Mark asked the GB News panel: "So why has Ed Balls, Labour stalwart, criticised it, saying this hasn't been thought through? And why are farmers considering a blockade of Parliament with their tractors?"
Nickell-Turner claimed: "All of you have kind of implied that all farmers are going to have their land ripped away from them the second they pass away."
Mark hit back: "Some of them will have to break the farm up when dad dies or mum dies. How is that conscionable?"
Nickell-Turner responded: "But have you actually taken into account that we're not talking about the farmhouse, that is separate. We're talking about the farm land, only the land, over £2million. This is a fair tax."
Delivering his verdict on the tax decision, Mark told GB News: "Here's the principle. A family farm and farming is different, and I think farming is generational. And if a farm is a family farm, it should stay that way, ad infinitum.
"And that land will then always be used for the production of food, which is actually what we need in this country post-Brexit.
"And with the eco disaster that we're all worried about, we need to be making our own food. That ain't going to happen if farmland no longer is the domain of families."
Find Out More...