Dear Chancellor
As you prepare for this week’s Spring Statement, I know you are aware of nationwide concerns around your planned changes to inheritance tax for farms. As Leader of the Green Group of Councillors in Herefordshire, I am writing to urge you to reconsider, and listen to the concerns of farmers. Labour promised not to increase taxes for “working people”, but families running farms in Herefordshire are very hard working people!
It is not only farmers themselves who are extremely anxious; the residents we represent across the county – in the city, market towns, and rural parishes – are telling us how rushed and out of touch your announcement felt, and how much they value our family-run farms.
As Greens, we fully support targeting wealth, tax loopholes and land-banking, to redistribute resources and invest in public services, but these policies must be based on clear data and evidence.
Once family farms are broken up, they – along with local knowledge and communities – have gone for ever, so all potential impacts and unintended consequences must be thoroughly analysed.
The additional shock of the sudden ending of the SFI risks tipping many farmers over the edge.
We add our support for the ways forward that have already been suggested to you, including:
- A time limited concession for farmers over 75 years old, exempting them from the 7-year taper rule on gifts to descendants.
- Changes to thresholds and rates, so that the Treasury can better target taxes, deter land being used as a loophole, and help protect small and medium-sized family farms.
- A full IHT exemption for all land within Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) or other agri-environment schemes, as long as the land is in the scheme/s at the time of death and remains in scheme for 10 years afterwards.
The UK is made up of farmland – to damage this heritage would bring scorn on this government, but you still have time to introduce fairer systems. Please work with Defra and cabinet colleagues to urgently grasp this opportunity to listen to farmers, IHT experts and local elected politicians like us, to ensure that our tax system enhances landscapes and livelihoods here in Herefordshire and around the country.
With thanks and best wishes from Herefordshire,
Yours Sincerely
Diana Toynbee
Leader of the Green Group of Councillors, Herefordshire Council