NFU 'working at 110mph' to reverse farm inheritance tax raid

National Farmers Union (NFU) vice president Rachel Hallos spoke to more than 70 farmers at the NFU Norfolk annual county meeting at Park Farm Hotel in Hethersett.

She said the Treasury is being urged to re-evaluate its calculations on the impact which changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) will have on family farms, including many in East Anglia.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in last week's budget that APR would be cut for farm assets worth over £1m - meaning many family farms will no longer be able to hand down land to future generations without a crippling 20pc tax bill.

The changes have sparked a furious reaction from farmers, and prompted the launch of the EDP's "Fair dear for farmers" campaign, demanding a reversal of the decision.

Mrs Hallos spoke about NFU President Tom Bradshaw’s meeting with Defra Secretary Steve Reed and Treasury officials on Monday, the NFU’s planned mass lobbying event in London on November 19, an online petition which has been signed by more than 150,000 members of the public and the huge amount of media interest being generated in support of British farmers.

“We are running at 110mph to help the government to understand the impact the decisions made on APR and BPR will have on family farms, and we need to keep that momentum going," she said.

“Following Tom Bradshaw’s meeting with Steve Reed and Treasury officials, we know they are going away to check their figures.

“They are going to have conversations that need to be had and they know that this issue is not going to go away.”

NFU vice president Rachel Hallos speaking at the NFU Norfolk annual meeting (Image: Brian Finnerty / NFU) The NFU has rejected Treasury figures which suggest that only 27pc of farms would be affected, because 73pc of past APR claims were below £1m.

The union says these figures do not consider farms that have also claimed Business Property Relief for diversification ventures, and they also include a "substantial number" of smallholdings valued under £500,000.

By comparison, Defra’s data shows that 66pc of farms are worth more than the new £1m tax threshold.

The NFU says "very few viable farms are worth under £1m", which it adds "could buy 50 acres and a house today".

The average farmer’s return on capital invested is less than 1pc, creating concerns the policy could force the sale of family farms to pay the inheritance tax bill, says the union.

Tenant farmers are also worried that landowners could be forced to sell-up, leaving the farm business in limbo.

The NFU is planning a mass lobbying event in London on November 19, when hundreds of farmers are expected to meet with their constituency MPs in Parliament to urge them to reconsider changes to inheritance tax.

Mrs Hallos urged farmers at the Norfolk meeting to continue to engage with their MPs and emphasised that the November 19 event is "not a protest".

She said: “Now is the time to stand up for our members and be heard.

“At the NFU we follow the rules, we don’t break any laws and we need to keep it classy.”

The NFU says 1,800 of its members have registered for the event, but many more want their voice to be heard as "the level of anger in the industry may never have been so high."

As the mass lobby event is at capacity, the NFU has urged farmers not to travel to London if they are not registered. However, unless the policy is changed, it says this will be followed by another event "at which farmers and growers will demonstrate how we feel about this devastating policy", adding: "If we need it, that will be our show of mass unity and strength."

The Norfolk annual meeting also heard that Graham Shadrack, who farms near Attleborough, will become the next NFU Norfolk chairman in February, when he takes over from current chairman Tim Papworth, who will have served his two-year term.