'Family bequeathed farms should be exempt from inheritance tax' - Your Letters: December 28

VIEW ON FARMS IS SO SIMPLISTIC

Bill McCarthy, in his column, asserts farmers "sit on assets worth millions." When the farm owner dies and leaves the business to his family are they supposed to fence off 20 per cent of the property and auction it off to raise the IHT that the government wants? Such a simplistic, and indeed, childish view is breathtaking. Family bequeathed farms should be exempt IHT. Hedge fund farm owners should be taxed as heavily as other businesses.

Earlier in his article Bill McCarthy states "Billions would go to the NHS". Yes and we we know exactly what happens to money shovelled into the NHS money pit. Well, actually; come to think about it; we don't know what happens to it. As of yet, no government has had the courage to tackle this.

Trevor Howard, Wolverhampton

ENGINE TRIBUTE TO SISTER DORA

Further to the article on Sister Dora, she was held in such high regard that the London North Western Railway named "Jumbo" Class Locomotive No 2158 in her honour.