I am concerned about the Government’s plans to tax farmers leaving their farm to their family.
This move would not affect “wealthy landowners”. In fact, the most affected would be family farms, as the evidence shows that they cannot absorb this additional expense. In 2022/23, Government statistics show that 17% of farms failed to make a profit and 59% made a profit of less than £50,000, leaving little scope to pay inheritance tax out of farm income. Modelling suggests that the average farm, of which there are many in my constituency, would have no choice but to sell around 32% of their land on death just to pay HMRC.
This policy would seriously threaten the long-term sustainability of family farming in the UK and could decimate domestic food production, forcing us to further rely on imports. This would lead to an increase in food prices for consumers. As the figures show, farmers are unable to absorb this additional expense. This means that these extra costs would be passed on to consumers, leading to higher prices. M&S and Sainsbury’s have both warned that we may see a spike in food prices next year as a result of measures laid out in the Budget.
In short, these ill-conceived changes would be costly for farmers, costly for consumers and costly for the entire country.