Farmers to stage fresh protests over inheritance tax reforms

Farmers are stepping up their campaign against the UK government’s controversial inheritance tax reforms, with a series of protests across the country on Saturday.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) warned that many farmers were at “breaking point” and could not afford increased bills.

A petition signed by more than 270,000 members of the public was handed in to 10 Downing Street by NFU president Tom Bradshaw and NFU Cymru president Aled Jones on Friday, urging the government to ditch what they described as the “devastating family farm tax”.

The NFU is staging a series of events on Saturday as part of a so-called National Day of Unity.

Farmers say they want to thank the British public for their support and warn of the impact of the planned reforms to inheritance tax for farming businesses.

“After decades of tightening margins, record inflation, increased production costs and extreme weather, many farmers and growers are at breaking point and simply will not be able to afford the increased tax bill they will now face,” said the NFU.

“With the likely loss of family farm businesses as a result of this tax, alongside increases in employment costs also announced in the Budget, there is a real risk to UK food production.”

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Frustration

In a statement, the four presidents of the UK farming unions said: “The public in huge numbers, more than 270,000, have signed this family farm tax petition expressing their anger and frustration at the utter contempt shown by the government for the people who produce the nation’s food.

“It gives us great strength to know that the public are backing British farming at this critical moment in time.

“The industry is not taking this lying down. The government has woken a sleeping giant, as our mass lobby of MPs in Westminster and the farmer-led rally in Whitehall have demonstrated.

“The National Day of Unity provides another opportunity to call on the Government to overturn this abhorrent policy.

“It’s a day to come together for everyone who believes that Britain’s family farms, and the high-quality food they produce, deserve better.

“Farmers at events across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be on hand to speak with the public to explain why changes to Agriculture Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) stand to punish food-producing businesses, destroying generations of work from hard-pressed farming families and changing the face of our rural communities forever.

“We’re asking the Chancellor to listen to farmers and meet with us to hear and fully understand our very real concerns.

“Rest assured, the UK farming unions will not sit quietly and let this go – we will continue fighting because this is not just about our farms, but our families, our future and your food.”