The Government's devastating Family Family Tax, the changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, have come into effect.
This is despite Labour promising farmers before the General Election that they would not touch the reliefs. That broken promise has officially come into effect.
For the past 17 months, the Conservatives have consistently opposed the Family Farm and Family Business Taxes in Parliament. On seven separate occasions, Conservative MPs have forced votes in the House of Commons to scrap the measures entirely - each time opposed by the Labour Government.
Whilst the actions of the Conservative Party alongside farmers forced a welcomed partial u-turn, the Government should have listened to their called to scrap the changes entirely.
Labour’s broken promise to farmers means 219 agricultural holdings in Redditch are now facing deep uncertainty, with many fearing they may be forced to sell or break up long-standing family farms in order to meet inheritance tax liabilities.
This comes at a time when farmers are facing increasing costs in fuel and fertiliser driven by the conflict in the Middle East whilst staring down further tax hikes being imposed on them by the Labour government. 50,000 farms will be affected by Labour’s Fuel Duty hike to red diesel making food production more expensive and this will only be exacerbated further by Labour’s Fertiliser Tax.
This is why in addition to axing the Family Farm and Family Business Taxes the Conservatives have committed to axing the Fertiliser Tax and Fuel Duty hike, protecting our food security and backing British farmers.
Victoria Atkins MP, Shadow Environment Secretary, said:
“Farming families the length and breadth of Britain will be living in fear of breaking up their farms when relatives pass away, all in order to pay crippling sums to the Treasury.
“This could have been avoided, but it is being imposed by a Government with no understanding of or care for rural life. They have overseen the highest number of farm closures on record as a result of their taxes and policies.
“The Conservatives are on the side of rural communities, and we will axe Labour's Family Farm and Business Taxes when we are back in government. The farmers who work long hours to produce food for the nation deserve better.”
