Welsh farmers alone could make up 40% of the Treasury’s estimated number of farm businesses hit by Inheritance Tax changes, the Commons Welsh Affairs Committee has claimed.
The committee this week published correspondence by the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, which adds to the view the Treasury has “substantially underestimated” the number of businesses affected.
The correspondence claimed as many as 200 Welsh farms would be impacted by the policy, in an estimate that heaps yet more pressure on the government’s controversial changes to agriculture and business property relief.
The Treasury has claimed just 520 of the wealthiest businesses in the UK will be subjected to increased taxes, via a fall in APR and BPR from 100% to 50% on properties valued over £1m.
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However, this figure has been subject to significant dispute. The likes of AHDB and the NFU estimate some 75% of the entire farming sector could face increases in tax liabilities – with potentially disastrous effects for the sector.
The letter came in the same week 1,400 tractors descended on Westminster to protest against the IHT policy change. Rally organiser Save British Farming said the gathering on monday was a “world record” for the most tractors assembled in one place as it pledged to continue campaigning on the issue.
“Like the poll tax struggle, this is a marathon not a sprint, but we will keep going until we win,” said organiser Liz Webster.
The tractor rally coincided with a debate by MPs into the changes at Westminster Hall in the wake of an e-petition that attracted 150,000 signatures.
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But despite members of all political parties agreeing on the need to look again at the policy, exchequer secretary to the Treasury James Murray insisted “the changes will still leave farmland much more lightly taxed than other assets”.
Meanwhile, protesting farmers in Milton Keynes on Thursday forcfed prime minister Keir Starmer to have to cut short a visit to a housing development in Milton Keynes after about a dozen tractors gathered outside the site souding horns and disrupting his speech.
Farmer Phillip Weston told Sky News: “He’s not coming to us to talk, so we’re coming to him.”
Responding to the protests, Save British Farming put out a statement stressing it had “no involvement” in the action, before continuing its call for “meaningful engagement” with the government “to address the real challenges faced by farmers, without resorting to actions that undermine our credibility and shared goals”.
“While we strongly advocate for British farmers and rural communities and understand why farmers are feeling desperate at this difficult time, we reject disruptive tactics that do not represent the best interests of our industry,” it said.
“Our focus remains on amplifying farmers’ voices, organising legitimate protests and engaging in constructive dialogue with policymakers to rethink inheritance tax charges, secure fair trade policies, protect British food standards, and support sustainable farming.”
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