Farmers take inheritance tax protest to Westminster

The National Farmers’ Union and 1,800 of its members are descending on Westminster today for testy meetings with MPs while others – possibly in tractors – will march on Whitehall.

They’re protesting a change to the rules on inheritance tax introduced in the UK’s recent Budget, removing a 1992 farming tax-free allowance.

The changes are complex – if a single farmer passes their farm on to someone who is not a direct descendant, 20 per cent inheritance tax is due on land worth over £1.3 million. If a couple passes a farm on to their children, it’s £3 million.

Twenty per cent is half the standard rate of inheritance tax, while 462 inherited farms were valued above £1 million in 2021-22, according to HM Revenue and Customs.

The UK has 209,000 farms. The NFU claims this “will deal a hammer blow to farming families”. Sustain, the sustainable farming lobby, disagrees.

Elon Musk says the UK is going “full Stalin”.