LICHFIELD District Council has been urged to formally oppose changes to inheritance tax due to the impact it could have on farming communities.
A motion has been proposed by Cllr Thomas Marshall ahead of a meeting tomorrow (10th December).
The Conservative representative for Armitage with Handsacre has put forward the issue for debate due to what he says will be “severe impacts” of the inheritance tax changes for food security and rural communities.
He also urged councillors of all political persuasions to “stand with Britain’s family farms” by standing up against the Government’s plans.
His motion says:
“The proposed changes to inheritance tax announced by the Labour Government in the recent Autumn budget would scrap Agricultural Property Relief which has been instrumental in allowing British family farms to remain intact across generations, supporting food security, sustaining rural communities, and aiding environmental stewardship.
“This tax is estimated to impact over 70,000 family farms, leaving the average farming family with a tax bill of at least £240,000 which will force many to sell portions of their land or close entirely, paving the way for corporate ownership over family ownership.
“This tax will have severe impacts as selling off land or closing farms will put our national food independence at risk, at a time when global stability is already fragile. British family farms are critical to ensuring a steady supply of homegrown food.
“Family farms are the foundation of rural Britain, contributing to local jobs, schools, and essential services. Labour’s proposed tax risks destabilising communities, eroding the rural way of life, and causing a negative ripple effect across the countryside.
“Farms cover 70% of the UK’s land, with family farms playing a leading role in nature recovery, biodiversity, and sustainable land management. The sale and fragmentation of these lands would hinder conservation efforts and undermine environmental initiatives.”
The motion calls for the council to oppose the inheritance tax changes and to advocate for the exemption of family farms from the move.
Lichfield MP Dave Robertson said Cllr Marshall had not spoken up when previous concerns had been raised over farming issues.
“The new Government is having to make hard choices to fix the foundations of our economy given the £22billion black hole in the public finances and the profitability crisis in farming which was left by the Conservatives.
“Cllr Marshall and his Conservative colleagues said nothing when the previous government signed a disastrous trade deal with Australia and New Zealand which undercut British farmers by allowing low quality food imports.
“They were similarly silent when the last Government failed to spend £300million on support for farming businesses last year, and when rural crime skyrocketed under their watch.
“In the last five years 7% of the agricultural businesses in the West Midlands closed and they said nothing – I think rural communities will see through the bluster to the litany of failure of the Conservatives since 2010.”
