UK farmers are voicing deep concern over recent government inheritance tax reforms, warning they threaten the future of family farms and the broader agricultural industry. Charlie Walford, a third-generation Somerset farmer, faces an inheritance tax bill exceeding £1 million upon taking over his family’s 400-acre farm. This staggering liability has pushed him to join a protest outside the Labour conference in Liverpool, aimed at protecting the agricultural land his family has stewarded since 1949.
Historically, agricultural assets have been exempt from inheritance tax, allowing farms to pass down through generations without crippling financial burdens. However, with upcoming Labour-led reforms set to take effect next April, Walford confronts a 20% levy on his £3 million land valuation, despite his farm generating only a 1% return and a taxable profit of £12,000 in 2023.
Facing an annual tax payment of approximately £100,000 stretched over ten years, Walford fears the desperate measures required to cover this cost may mean selling off parts of the land — actions that would trigger further tax complications and jeopardize the farm’s future.
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Farmers to Action, the campaign group organizing the protest, highlights concerns that these inheritance tax changes, while targeting the wealthiest, will ultimately impact up to 70,000 farms across the UK, according to the Country Land and Business Association.
Walford warns the reforms could lead to the demise of family-owned farms, replaced by industrial developers and large-scale projects, forever altering Britain’s cherished rural landscape. With his own children growing up alongside these changes, he reluctantly advises them to pursue other careers, lamenting the relentless hard work paired with low returns and mounting challenges.
The National Farmers Union echoes these worries, emphasizing agriculture’s significant contribution to the economy and calling on the government to reconsider the tax policy. NFU president Tom Bradshaw critiques the reforms for disproportionately burdening working farming families while failing to address wealth shelters effectively.
In response, a government spokesperson assures that farming remains central to economic growth and food security goals. They emphasize ongoing investments in sustainable farming and reforms designed to balance public service funding with estate tax relief. Notably, they point out that three-quarters of estates will remain exempt from inheritance tax, while others benefit from reduced rates and interest-free payment plans extending over a decade.
As the debate continues, farmers like Charlie Walford stand at the frontlines, fighting to preserve not only their livelihoods but the future of British agriculture itself.