A TEAM of Conservative members in West Worcestershire have banded together to oppose Labour’s new inheritance tax changes for farmers.
The members are a group of Worcestershire County Council candidates hoping to win the public’s vote on behalf of the Conservatives in next May’s local elections.
They are launching a campaign to take a firm stance against what has been dubbed the ‘family farms tax’ by opposers.
The changes to inheritance tax, announced in Labour’s autumn budget, could see farms needing to be sold off to pay tax bills when owners die.
Previously farms and assets could be passed down through generations whilst avoiding tax hits through Agricultural Property Relief – something which has itself been met with opposition and described as a loophole allowing the wealthy to purchase land in order to avoid taxation on assets passed down.
Now, after £1 million, farm assets will attract inheritance tax of 20 per cent, which will need to be payed over a 10 year period. Married couples or those in a civil partnership will receive £3 million in tax relief.
To show support for West Worcestershire farmers, the Conservative council candidates have attended local rallies and met to discuss ways in which they can help farmers locally.
Whilst out campaigning in Tenbury this weekend alongside the region’s MP Harriett Baldwin, the Conservative team say they received plenty of support from locals as they carried their ‘No Farmers No Food’ posters.
There has been extensive opposition to the tax changes, with government bodies, news outlets, and others finding it difficult to come to an agreement on the number of farms expected to be affected.
According to statistics from the Treasury, roughly 500 farms per year will be affected with environment secretary, Steve Reed, saying three quarters of farmers will pay nothing as a result of the changes.
This is based on there being 462 farms valued at over £1 million being inherited in 2021/22.
In contrast, National Farmers’ Union (NFU) analysis says around 75 per cent of commercial family farms are valued above the £1 million threshold. This figure does not take into account the increased tax relief for legally recognised couples.
Estimates from the Country Land and Business Association and Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs’ Farm Business Survey suggest between 62,000 and 70,000 farm holdings would be above the threshold and therefore be impacted by the changes, should these assets be inherited.
Despite all of this, the aforementioned West Worcestershire campaign group are looking to announce ‘a big and bold’ plan to support farmers across the ‘whole of the Malvern Hills district’.
Deputy Chairman Political of West Worcestershire Conservative Association, Sebastian Barbour, said: “Rural life is at the heart of our way of life here in West Worcestershire, and farming is an important part of our local identity.
“I urge the powers that be in Westminster to come to our rural area and see the contribution our farmers make to our national food production, and why support for them is so clear from the residents in our rural communities.”
