Farming minister urges farmers to look closely at tax plans

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With hundreds of farmers set to take to the streets of London in protest against inheritance tax proposals, the UK’s farming minister, Daniel Zeichner, has insisted that less than 500 farms a year will be affected by the changes. Zeichner dismissed claims made by the National Farmers Union (NFU) after the chancellor announced that the heirs of farmers would have to pay inheritance tax on land prices exceeding £1m. The NFU countered with claims that a majority of farmers would be affected, calling the proposal a “miscalculation… which demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of how farming is shaped and managed”.

According to the Treasury, 500 farms per year are likely to be affected by the proposed reforms. Couples and farms with property should be able to claim further reductions in their bill, suggests Zeichner. He also suggested that if land is passed on more than seven years before a person’s death then there will be nothing to pay. The farming minister, a former member of Labour’s DEFRA team, also said that the farming and food production budget had been increased in the recent Budget, which he claimed was a positive message for the sector.

The announcement has provoked anger among farmers already struggling to navigate difficulties, including helping their businesses survive fluctuating milk prices and Brexit. The prospect of a potentially large tax burden is one that many are worried about, with Simon Dann, a Norfolk farmer, stating that the new inheritance taxes are “a kick in the teeth”, particularly considering that farmers are a minority group who cannot resist the changes being made. Dann suggested that the chancellor join him on the farm to experience the reality of the situation, saying: “I’d love her to go home and think ‘gosh there are some people working really hard out there to put food on our plates, we ought to take more notice of them’

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