The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has not yet agreed to meet farmers’ leaders to discuss inheritance tax changes that were announced in last October’s UK Budget.
This follows numerous attempts made by farming unions, seeking opportunities to discuss the critical impact of these changes with the chancellor and/or members of her treasury team over recent weeks.
“It’s almost as if the chancellor has gone into hiding”, declared Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) deputy president, John McLenaghan.
“It’s imperative that we meet the government in the very near future to confirm the critically damaging impact that the inheritance tax changes will create across agriculture in Northern Ireland,” he added.
The UFU representative spoke at a recent briefing hosted for agricultural journalists.
Chancellor
While pushing to secure a full reversal of the chancellor’s decision is the UFU’s official policy on the inheritance tax issue, the organisation’s presidential team makes no secret of the fact that flexibility will be required to secure a final settlement.
This could include an increase in the final thresholds above which inheritance tax would be paid.
“But we need to meet the chancellor in order to sort these matters out, and this must happen as a matter of priority,” he added.
According to the UFU deputy president, the decision taken by the chancellor to include agricultural land within the inheritance tax net goes against the thrust of the priorities set out by the Labour government.
“This includes making food security a national priority. If the current inheritance tax changes are introduced in their current form, the potential to erode farming’s current production base is immense.
“Four decades ago, food self sufficiently levels in the UK averaged 80%. Today, this figure has fallen to just over 60%, and if it drops still further, the outlook for the stability of the UK as a whole would be extremely grave,” McLengahan said.
McLenaghan has confirmed that, from an economic perspective, 2025 has started on an upbeat note for agriculture in Northern Ireland.
Most farm gate returns are extremely strong at the present time with there being every prospect of these trends being maintained into the foreseeable future.
“Farm gate returns are where they should be. The issue now centres on farmers having the confidence to invest in the future of their businesses.
“But the inheritance tax changes announced by the chancellor of the exchequer are fundamentally impeding this process,” he continued.
