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Pushing Again on the Family Farm Tax
During last week’s Liberal Democrat Opposition Day, I again challenged the Government over its short-sighted family farm tax.
At the end of the debate, I put a straightforward question to the Farming Minister: how can a farm in my constituency, generating just £18,000 in annual profit, face a potential inheritance tax bill of £650,000?
His answer was disappointing. The Government’s position, he told me, was “now settled.”
But for many farming families across West Berkshire and beyond, this is far from settled.
The partial U-turn to raise the threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million was a welcome step forward, and a hard-won concession secured through the tireless campaigning of farmers across the country. I’m proud to have stood alongside them, supporting their campaign and meeting farmers across West Berkshire and in Westminster to bolster their calls.
But despite this concession, it doesn’t erase the fundamental injustice at the heart of the policy.
Since the Government first announced the tax in the 2024 Autumn Budget, farmers have endured more than a year of uncertainty and anguish over the future of their livelihoods; investment on hold, being forced to sell significant sections of land or considering career ending decisions to walk away all together.
At a time when fuel, fertiliser, and other input costs are financially crippling the sector, the shambolic roll out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive has left many in a cash flow crisis.
Our hardworking but exhausted farmers need a rural reset – one that sees the Government provide them with the backing they deserve and not to persevere with an ill thought through tax that makes it impossible for farmers to plan for the future.
From day one, the Liberal Democrats have demanded that it should be scrapped in full, and while the Government are seemingly standing firm, tomorrow’s budget can – and must be – the opportunity to change course.
