Lidl, Tesco, M&S, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons and the Co-op, are among the growing number of British retailers to voice their support for farmers amid the ongoing controversy over the proposed changes to inheritance tax in the UK.
Many of these retailers have publicly aired their concerns over the implications of these changes to national food security, urging the government to reconsider implementing these proposals pending consultation with farming organisations.
In a statement published to its website this week, Lidl restated its commitment to British farmers, which it claimed, are the source of two thirds of Lidl’s total produce and 100% of its fresh beef, pork, poultry, milk, butter, cream and eggs.
“We are concerned that the recent changes to the Inheritance Tax regime will impact farmer and grower confidence and hold back the investment needed to build a resilient, productive and sustainable British food system.
“We therefore support the call by the farming community to pause the implementation of those changes and to consult with industry to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. We will be raising our concerns with Government at any opportunity we get,” Lidl said.
British retailers
Tesco has also publicly asserted its long term commitment towards the UK agriculture industry in their fight to challenge Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) tax changes.
Tesco’s chief commercial officer, Ashwin Prasad, has sympathised with farmers over their concerns surrounding the new structuring of these tax reliefs, calling on an immediate “pause in the implementation of the policies” to facilitate further consultation.
In a statement published to Tesco’s website, Prassad said: “This is not just a debate about individual policies – the UK’s future food security is at stake.
“One message is loud and clear: farmers desperately need more certainty. After years of policy change, it has been harder than ever for them to plan ahead or to invest in their farms. One current area of uncertainty is the proposed change to inheritance tax relief.
“With many smaller farms relying on APR and BPR, we fully understand their concerns. It’s why we’ll be supporting the NFU’s calls for a pause in the implementation of the policy, while a full consultation is carried out,” Tesco said.
M&S have applied similar pressure on the government to “pause” inheritance tax changes, which, according to a statement from it’s managing director of food Alex Freudman, is required in order to safeguard the future of the agriculture industry.
“Our farmers are telling us they are concerned about the impact of the changes and government policy on their ability to make long term decisions about the future of their farms and on their confidence that they can pass on a viable business to the next generation.
“We have been working closely with the farming unions and support the NFU’s call to pause the policy while a full consultation is carried out. We have also raised these concerns during our own discussions with the government,” Freudman said.
Asda has joined the growing chorus of retailers pledging their support to British farmers and the farm organisations’ campaign to overturn the changes, entitled ‘Stop the Family Farm Tax’.
When asked for comment on its position, a spokesperson for the retailer said: “Farming is a vital part of our supply chain. We need a confident farming sector which is able and willing to invest in its future.
“We have been raising our concerns with government and will be supporting the NFU’s campaign calling for a pause in the implementation of APR to allow for proper consultation.”
A spokesperson for Aldi has provided a statement to the same effect, confirming Aldi’s “sense of pride” in supporting the UK farming community, who, it said, is the “lifeblood” of its business model.
“We all need a farming sector that can confidently invest in its future and continue to produce high-quality British food.
“That’s why we are supporting the farming community’s calls for the government to pause the implementation of its proposed changes to inheritance tax until a further period of consultation has taken place,” the spokesperson for Aldi stated.
Head of agriculture at Morrisons, Sophie Throup, also issued her support to the industry, on behalf of the retailer, explaining how she shares farmers’ concerns over the implication of these proposed changes, should they come into effect.
In a video message broadcasted on Morrison’s social media channels and directed towards farmers, Throup said: “We understand your anger and your frustrations at the inheritance tax and we’re with you.
“We share your concerns about the long-term future…and we’ve been raising these concerns at the highest levels of government since November last year and we will continue to do so.”
According to the NFU the Co-op, indicated its support to the cause, indicating that it had contacted relevant government departments to “look again at the impact of the changes”, in an email sent directly to its farming suppliers.
“We have also agreed to sign the UK farming unions’ letter going to the government imminently, thereby joining the call for a re-consideration of the proposed tax changes,” the email read.
NFU president, Tom Bradshaw, has thanked the retailers for their unanimous support for the UK’s agriculture industry and the union’s campaign on government to halt the introduction of the tax relief changes to enable “proper consultation” to take place.
