Government must measure number of farmer suicide deaths ahead of inheritance tax changes, Tories say

Farmers have claimed that the measures will force them to sell off land to pay inheritance tax bills, while assets would now have to be given to relatives seven years before death to avoid any tax liability.

Treasury minister James Murray said the Government’s plans to impose 20 per cent inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million is a “fair approach”, with current relief on business and agricultural assets “heavily skewed towards the wealthiest estates”.

However, the chair of the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Efra) Select Committee, Alastair Carmichael MP, has now written to the Prime Minister detailing evidence that shows “many more farms” may be affected.

It comes as Tesco, the Co-op and Lidl are among the retailers voicing concerns over the changes, saying farmers desperately need more certainty to plan ahead and invest.

In the House of Commons yesterday, Ms Atkins said: “Growth flatlining, business confidence plummeting and job freezes – and who has Labour chosen to pay the price for their economic literacy? Pensioners, family businesses and farmers.”

She added: “Will the minister now commit to a full and proper review of this dreadful policy?”

Ms Atkins continued: “As worrying reports of suicides amongst farmers begin to emerge, will he please do as the Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) Secretary (Steve Reed) has failed to do, which is measure the number of suicides over the next 12 months so that we can understand the human cost of this policy?”

National Farmers’ Union President Tom Bradshaw previously broke down in tears as he told the Efra Committee of “the most severe human impacts which we believe could end up being triggered by this”.

He accused the Government of putting people in “awful, awful, unacceptable positions”, explaining: “Those people, who are either in ill health or don’t believe they are going to be able to live the seven years, may well decide that they shouldn’t be here on April 2026.”

Mr Murray was responding to the urgent question on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast on the costing of the policy change.

The OBR found that the inheritance tax reforms were likely to bring in just £500m for the Exchequer over three years.

Mr Murray said: “I think that one of the confusions on the benches opposite is to confuse the value of farms with the value of claims under inheritance tax.

“And the only way to truly understand the impact of changes to inheritance tax policy on inheritance tax claims is to look at the claims data itself.”

Earlier in the session, he had told MPs: “The Government is maintaining very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others.”

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