Farmers need to be protected and supported in the upcoming Budget - The Yorkshire Post says

Before coming into Government, Labour made a lot of noise about shoring up food security. In order for it to fulfil the promises made, Labour must now show that it really meant what it said by ensuring that farmers are not only protected in the upcoming Budget but also supported.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces an invidious task as she prepares to stand at the Despatch box on October 30.

The financial black hole that the new Government has inherited needs to be filled but at the same time the economic recovery cannot be jeopardised, nor can vital industries like farming be overlooked.

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Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton and Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, rightly points out the extra costs farmers are having to face.

Farmers pass fireweed as they harvest the wheat in fields. PIC: Tony JohnsonFarmers pass fireweed as they harvest the wheat in fields. PIC: Tony Johnson
Farmers pass fireweed as they harvest the wheat in fields. PIC: Tony Johnson

Scrapping inheritance tax (IHT) reliefs could have devastating consequences for family farms.

The Agricultural Property Relief (APR) allows working farms to be passed down to the next generation by making them free from IHT.

Whatever opinions people hold on the tax burden and who should bear the heaviest load, this is a question of farmers’ livelihoods and the very future of an industry that is sadly taken for granted.

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As Sarah Todd writes in The Saturday Essay in today’s newspaper, many hardworking farming families would not be able to stomach the additional cost.

The CLA (Country Land and Business Association) says for an average family farm of 215 acres, without such reliefs, 40 per cent of the farm’s land would need to be sold to fund inheritance tax liabilities.

The Chancellor will have to carefully walk the tightrope when it comes to taxes. And she will need to be vigilant of unintended consequences of well intentioned policies. She must also not forget British farmers.

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