British farmers ‘frightened of what might lie ahead’ amid major fears over tractor tax, review finds
The farming sector is “confused and fearful of what lies ahead”, with farmers saying changes to inheritance tax are the biggest challenge they face in terms of viability, a government review has found.
Farmers have repeatedly protested the changes since they were announced last year; This will see them pay 20 per cent tax on £1 million worth of inherited agricultural assets.
The farm profitability report, produced by former National Farmers Union president Minette Batters, called for a “new deal for profitable farming” that recognizes the true cost of producing food and distributing it to the environment.
The terms of the review by Baroness Batters did not include the controversial changes to inheritance tax, but she said this was raised as the biggest issue regarding the viability of the farm by almost all participants in her review.
The review came at a time when there was an atmosphere of hostility towards Labor in the countryside; Farming communities believed they had been misled by Sir Keir Starmer’s promise to support them before the election.
The issue caused Lancashire Labor MP Cat Smith to clash with Sir Keir when he appeared before the House of Commons Liaison Committee earlier this week.
He warned that she had “pulled the rug out from under the family farms”; He said those who voted Labor felt “misled”; and some farmers with terminal diagnoses were trying to “accelerate” their own deaths so they could get back to their farms before April.
Another MP, Markus Campbell-Savours, who represents the rural Cumbrian district of Penrith and Solway, was suspended from the Labor parliamentary party after voting against the government on the issue.
In the review, which was commissioned six months ago and has been delayed twice for publication, Baroness Batters warned that the sector faces a sharp rise in costs and increasingly extreme weather conditions, combined with severe drought this year.
Uncertainty surrounding the closing of applications for the sustainable farming subsidy scheme, the main agricultural payments post-Brexit, and proposed changes to inheritance tax have created “significant” ongoing concern, with some farmers questioning sustainability, let alone profitability.
The government said it would not immediately respond officially to the report but insisted it was already taking action to help farmers.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “When farming thrives, the whole country benefits. British farmers are central to our food security, rural economy and stewardship of our countryside.
“Baroness Batters’ review underlines that government, farming and the food industry need to work much more closely together. That is exactly what the new Agriculture and Food Partnership Board will do.
“This is about serious action to remove barriers, unlock investment and make the food system work better so farm businesses can grow, invest and plan for the future with confidence.”
Conservative MP Matt Vickers said: “Labour’s report on farming profitability shows the harsh reality of Rachel Reeves’s family farming tax. Farmers say it is the biggest problem they face and they fear what could happen next.”
