Shropshire Farming Talk: The ‘family farm tax’ would have a devastating impact
Since the Chancellor’s announcement back in the autumn that she was proposing changes to Inheritance Tax Rules, NFU Cymru has been calling on the UK Government to halt these controversial plans.
The ‘family farm tax’ would have a devastating impact on family farms across the UK and would mean a large number of farms couldn’t afford to continue as viable, food producing businesses.
Farmers have rallied since the announcement, and haven’t taken this destructive policy lying down, in fact it is something we won’t give up on.
There is simply too much at risk – our families, our future, our culture and the undermining of the very sector that produces a safe, secure supply of home-produced food.
We have been clear in our asks to government – that they should pause the proposals, consult and undertake a comprehensive impact assessment that considers the long-term impact of these changes on farming families and food production.
Many of you will have seem our #StoptheFamilyFarmTax banners appearing on roadsides across Wales to amplify our message that these proposals threaten the future of family farms. They are a powerful visual reminder that we will continue to fight for a reversal of the tax.
Welsh farmers are the backbone of our rural communities and have kept our culture and language thriving for generations.
We are also immensely proud to be the cornerstone of a Welsh food and farming sector worth £9.3 million to Wales and part of a food and drink industry that employs 228,500 people – 17 per cent of Wales’ workforce.
Farmers from across the UK will also come together on Saturday 25th January in a Day of Unity to thanks the public for their overwhelming support, and to underline to Parliamentarians in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland that our campaign will not stop until the tax is finally subject to consultation and proper scrutiny.
Not only is this a chance for farmers up and down the country to come out and show they won’t back down on this issue, but it is also a chance for anyone who believes our family farms, and the high-quality food they produce, deserve to be better valued and supported.
The events will vary across the country, but all will include three simple messages: That the tax is badly thought out and will have a devastating impact on family farms; that the wonderful support of the public means everything to farmers; and we will not be going away. This will go on for as long as it needs to.
More information on these events and other ways farmers and members of the public can support the #StoptheFamilyFarmTax campaign can be found by visiting the NFU Cymru website.
by Gwawr Parry, NFU Cymru County Advisor
