Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire NFU chair warns inheritance tax changes are putting farms at risk
The chair of the National Farmers’ Union in Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire says new inheritance tax rules could force family farms to sell land, including her own, as more than 100 organisations urge the Prime Minister to rethink the policy ahead of the autumn budget
The head of the NFU in Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire says inheritance tax changes are leaving farms across the area at risk. Freya Morgan said the rules mean tax bills would need to be paid before families can access money tied up in probate.
Freya said her own farm is affected. She said: “Our only option would be to sell land to pay that money. Most farms are only making less than half of one per cent on investment.”
She said many farms have already faced two loss-making years. “We were all losing money. We are subsidising the cost of the commodities that go into the food chain,” she said.
Freya said farmers were not consulted before the changes were announced. “There has been no consultation with the government, the NFU or anybody within our industry,” she said.
She warned that probate delays make the new deadlines impossible. “I’ve had four years of probate. They expect you to start paying tax within six months. You won’t be able to meet that deadline,” she said.
Her warning comes after the NFU joined more than 100 businesses, retailers and trade bodies in signing a letter urging the Prime Minister to rethink the tax plans. The signatories include major supermarkets, farming bodies and food producers, who say the policy will force farms to sell land and damage economic growth.
The letter argues the policy is “anti-growth” and says several alternative proposals have already been put forward by independent tax experts. It urges the government to reconsider the changes before the budget.
The UK government says the reforms to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief are a “fair and balanced approach” and will only affect the wealthiest estates, with most farmers “unaffected”. It says the changes are designed to make the inheritance tax system fairer and to stop land being used only for tax purposes.
Freya said the impact is already clear locally. “Orders for new buildings and machinery have been cancelled. It’s affecting jobs in rural areas,” she said.
She added that selling farmland would change who owns and uses it. “Farmers won’t be the ones buying that land. It will be investment companies,” she said.
Freya said the NFU wants the Treasury to talk to farmers before the autumn budget. “We want them to engage and listen. We can help find a solution,” she said.