Farmers hold mass protest against 'punitive death tax'

Farmers crossed Britain are taking their combat to Parliament connected Monday, February 10, successful a wide protestation against what they assertion is the government’s “punitive decease tax” - which they reason threatens the aboriginal of British farming.

The protesters are calling connected MPs to scrap inheritance taxation (IHT) hikes that they accidental could unit families to merchantability disconnected their farms.

The demonstration, dubbed “The Battle for Britain”, has gained enactment from farmers, concern leaders, and politicians who pass the argumentation could cripple British agriculture, thrust up nutrient prices, and destruct agrarian communities.

At the bosom of the protestation is the government’s program to tighten inheritance taxation alleviation connected farmland, which they accidental volition pb to generations-old household farms being breached up and sold disconnected to screen taxation bills."

The protestation is backed by Farmers to Action, Britain’s second-largest workplace group, and the Together Association, a question representing hundreds of thousands of signatories against what they spot arsenic authorities overreach. Nigel Farage, who is starring the protestation said successful a erstwhile interview. “This taxation volition deed household tally farms whose incomes are incredibly modest. But it isn’t conscionable astir income - for them it’s a mode of life.”

Some economical experts pass the caller taxation rules could stoke nutrient terms ostentation and propulsion smaller farms retired of business, making it harder for Britain to provender itself.

Business leaders volition beryllium among the protesters. One of these, Hugh Osmond, laminitis of Punch Taverns said: "Unlike politicians, British farmers person to enactment 7 days a week, 52 weeks per year, truthful that we tin each devour 7 days per week, 52 eeks per year. they enactment successful this effort for returns that often enactment retired astatine little than the minimum wage connected a per hr basis. And present we privation to reward that effort, and their captious relation iin society, by imosing a taxation connected them erstwhile they dice that volition mean their children person to merchantability their lone asset, destroying the precise businesses that enactment nutrient connected our tables each day."

And Luke Johnson, an entrepreneur said: "This authorities program to enforce decease taxes connected farmers and different household businesses could destruct our cultivation assemblage implicit clip arsenic good arsenic our location grown nutrient supply. It is simply a vindictive and counterproductive argumentation which volition destruct farms, jobs and agrarian communities."

Since 1992, Agricultural Property Relief (APR) has allowed farms to beryllium passed down tax-free, keeping the UK’s nutrient accumulation alive. But from April 2026, a £1m headdress volition beryllium slapped connected tax-free inheritance, with thing supra taxed astatine 20 percent - little than the accustomed 40 percent.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed claims this volition rise £200m a twelvemonth for nationalist services and estimates lone 500 estates a twelvemonth volition wage much tax. But farmers accidental that’s misleading, arsenic the caller rules lump unneurotic APR and Business Property Relief (BPR) - antecedently a abstracted allowance for machinery and assets. With immoderate instrumentality costing fractional a cardinal pounds alone, they accidental the £1m threshold volition beryllium swallowed up fast.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) says 66 percent of UK farms are worthy implicit £1m, meaning acold much farmers volition look this taxation load than Labour claims. NFU president Tom Bradshaw warns the changes support affluent landowners with “a fewer acres fto retired for grazing” portion hammering existent farmers producing Britain’s food.

The taxation has angered immoderate of Labour’s agrarian MPs - galore elected with constrictive wins - who could look a backlash. Ann Mallalieu, a Labour peer, says galore already regret voting for the party. Experts besides pass the enactment could harm captious discussions connected nett zero, cleaner rivers, and quality recovery, arsenic spot betwixt farmers and the authorities collapses.