Thousands of British farmers protest against 'tractor tax' on inheritance

Reuters

Thousands of British farmers protest against 'tractor tax' on inheritance

Nov 19, 2024 at 1:23 pm GMT

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Farm inheritance tax rules announced in Labour's budget

Protesters threaten to disrupt food supplies

Government says tax revenue will fund public services

Recasts with start of protest, adds new quotes and background throughout

By Sarah Young

LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) -Thousands of farmers protested at Britain's parliament and some drove tractors through central London on Tuesday to demand the scrapping of an inheritance tax that they say will destroy family farms and threaten food production.

The measure, dubbed the tractor tax by critics and unveiled in the new government's budget last month as it sought to raise funds, has sparked an angry backlash from farmers who say the ruling Labour Party does not understand rural communities.

The protesters held placards stating "no farmers, no food, no future" and "Starmer the farmer harmer", in reference to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Some children joined the protest, riding toy tractors close to the Big Ben bell tower.

Farmer Emma Robinson, 44, said she was "absolutely livid" and would take part in measures to disrupt food supplies if needed - echoing threats from other farmers of tougher action if the government did not back down.

"It was my baton and I was going to pass it on to my kids," said Robinson, who says her farm in northwest England has been in her family for 500 years. "It's being taken out of my hands by someone that's been in parliament for literally days."

Under the policy set out by finance minister Rachel Reeves, people inheriting a farm worth more than 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) would have to pay 20% inheritance tax from 2026. The passing of farms down generations was earlier tax free.

Farmers say that while their land and machinery has a high value, the farms themselves have low profit margins, meaning their children would have to sell land to cover the tax bill.

The government has acknowledged the strength of feeling, but said the reforms would only target wealthier estates and the most valuable farms, while helping fund public services that farming communities rely on.

It said the tax change would impact about 500 farms a year, with the tax rate for those paying set at half the usual rate of 40% and payable in instalments over 10 years.

Jeremy Clarkson, the former Top Gear presenter, was among those demonstrating. He had previously said avoiding inheritance tax was a critical factor in his decision to buy a farm in the Cotswolds in southern England.

The backlash is only one part of a wider opposition to the Labour government's first budget since winning an election in July, with businesses warning Reeves' other tax-raising measures will fuel inflation.

Farmers say they are already suffering from unfair competition as cheaper imported produce does not have to meet the same environmental and welfare standards, while their incomes have also been squeezed by supermarkets and hit by climate change.

Justin Trott, a farmer from Somerset, southwest England, said he was angry about what the tax changes meant for his family's future as he pointed to his two-year-old son.

"It's a complete attack on the rural culture of life," he said.

($1 = 0.7923 pounds)

Reporting by Sarah Young and Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alison Williams

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