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Environment secretary Steve Reed has hit again amid a storm of criticism over the federal government’s plans to lengthen inheritance tax to household farms, claiming the “vast majority of farmers will not be affected at all”.
He blamed “misleading headlines” for backlash to the tax, saying “only the richest estates” will be affected.
It comes simply days after Sir Keir Starmer was accused of mendacity to farmers about wanting “a new relationship” with them after the Budget prolonged the tax to household farms for the primary time in historical past.
The transfer, which has already been dubbed the “tractor tax”, means farms price greater than £1m at the moment are topic to 20 per cent inheritance tax.
Writing within the Telegraph, Mr Reed mentioned the federal government has taken a “fair and balanced approach that protects family farms while also fixing the public services those same families rely on”.
“I completely understand farmers’ anxiety at any changes. But rural communities need a better NHS, affordable housing and public transport that we can provide if we make the system fairer”, he mentioned.
Mr Reed continued: “Only the richest estates will be asked to pay – not small, family farms as some misleading headlines have claimed.
“Look at the detail and you’ll see that the vast majority of farmers will not be affected at all. They will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done.
“That is how we boost our food security and speed up nature’s recovery.”
Farmers from throughout the UK are set to descend on London subsequent week for a rally towards the federal government’s agricultural insurance policies, which they argue put the way forward for household farms in danger.
The rally, organised by the National Farmers Union (NFU), will happen on Tuesday in Westminster.
The row over the tax has been fuelled by reminiscences of Sir Keir’s 2023 speech to the NFU when he pledged to have “a new relationship with the countryside and farmers”.
The prime minister claimed to be involved that “each day brings a new existential risk” to British farming. He added: “Losing a farm is not like losing any other business, it can’t come back.”
Baroness Batters, the previous president of the NFU who launched Sir Keir on the convention final 12 months, mentioned the £1m threshold will simply be reached when land worth is added to the worth of equipment and buildings on farms, which means most household farms will be topic to the brand new tax.
She mentioned: “There was already a challenge in farming because of the move away from CAP and the new subsidy system not really working.
“The problem is that farmers are asset rich but cash poor. So this will have an impact.”
Her successor, Tom Bradshaw, described the brand new tax as “disastrous”.
“This Budget not only threatens family farms but will also make producing food more expensive. This means more cost for farmers who simply cannot absorb it, and it will have to be borne by someone. Farmers are down to the bone and gristle, who is going to carry these costs?”, he mentioned.
Meanwhile, Gareth Wyn Jones, a farmer in North Wales, informed The Independent: “We were lied to by Keir Starmer. There is no doubt.
“The vast majority of farms in this country are family farms and now they are going to be broken up or people will not be able to afford to stay in farming.”
Speaking on Thursday, Sir Ed Davey, chief of the Liberal Democrats, mentioned his get together would “absolutely” reverse the coverage in the event that they had been in energy.
Speaking to journalists on the press gallery lunch in parliament, Sir Ed mentioned the coverage “shows a huge lack of understanding of rural communities and farmers”.
He warned that “farmers are struggling” within the wake of Brexit and years of unstable climate circumstances, describing the previous few years as having already been a “rough run” for British farms.
“Farms tend to go down generation to generation. It’s how they work and it’s really important.
“Fifty per cent of farms are worth at least £1.5m, so it’s more than one or two farms. Just think of the impact that’s going to have on communities”, he added.
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