Ian Fleming ­ of Carlisle-based Armstrong Watson & Co, not the James Bond the same name ­ has a cracking story in the latest issue of Tax Adviser.

Fleming reveals that a new kind of tractor, a sort of hot hatch for the farming world, is under scrutiny from the taxman because it goes too fast. Four Tracs may be liable to higher tax bills because, with a top speed of 40mph, the new model is being used for purposes other than the purely agricultural.

Agricultural vehicles are allowed to use rebated petrol; others are not. There are no clear statutes, and tax advisers and farmers are becoming perplexed as to what to do. Fleming says: ‘We need a tribunal.’