James Dyson slams UK budget as 'death of entrepreneurship'

James Dyson, the business tycoon behind electronics giant Dyson, criticized Chancellor Rachel Reeves' moves to increase taxes, including on inheritance of farmland worth over £1 million.

Dyson, whose net worth is $21 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and is linked to the company that makes hairdryers and vacuum cleaners, said the proposed guidelines would significantly harm the companies.

“Make no mistake, the fabric of our economy is being torn apart. No company can survive Reeves' 20% tax grab. It will be the death of entrepreneurship,” Dyson wrote in an editorial for The times. “Labour has shown its true colors with a venomous budget.”

Over the weekend, Jeremy Clarkson, a television personality turned farmer on the reality series, appeared Clarkson's Farmalso expressed anger at the exclusion of farmland from the inheritance tax exemption.

In a column for The times, For this reason, he wrote of Reeves: “History will see her as the dumbest, narrowest idiot ever to occupy No. 11.”

Even Elon Musk, who has clashed with the Labor Party in recent months, weighed in on the issue. He took to X, the social media platform he owns, and called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “leave farmers alone.”

Dyson's farming empire

Dyson's criticism is hardly surprising given that the entrepreneur owns a sprawling agricultural empire through his eponymous company, which is likely to be affected by upcoming inheritance tax changes.

Since 2013, Singapore-based Dyson has amassed around 35,000 hectares of farmland across the UK (larger than the royal family's holdings). The Telegraph reported in 2021), making him one of the largest farmers in the country. Last year, these companies produced, among other things, 40,000 tons of wheat and 12,000 tons of potatoes.

Previously, agricultural land was completely exempt from inheritance tax, and this loophole led to speculation that the rich were using it to evade taxes. But now, when budget measures come into force in April 2026, some of their families – including Dyson, Danish billionaire Anders Holch Polvsen and Clarkson – will have to pay hundreds of millions in taxes.

Dyson wrote in the editorial that while the company was fortunate to have £140 million to invest in improving agricultural infrastructure, few other farmers had such financial success.

“Reeves’ plans will make us even more reliant on food imports from overseas, delivered through unpredictable supply chains. This should keep the government awake at night,” he wrote.

“Reeves ignores the fact that this nation’s wealth is built not by government, but by private companies and entrepreneurs.”

It is unclear how much of an impact the measures will have on Dyson's personal assets. He and his family are among the biggest taxpayers in the UK, paying £156 million in 2023.

The move to tax inherited farmland has been met with backlash from farmers who fear losing some of their hard-earned wealth if they pass land to the next generation.

However, experts have stressed that the introduction of a tax could encourage succession planning within farming families. Meanwhile, the government has argued that the new measure will have no impact on most farms and is ultimately a step to protect the agricultural industry.

British Treasury officials did not immediately return AssetsPlease comment.