Ed Davey: Now is not the time to turn our backs on family farms
The IndependentBritish farmers are the best in the world because of our tradition of family farming. There is a wider issue of mental health crisis in farming, and many farmers rightly feel the latest tax on family farms comes at the worst possible time. To pay this new inheritance tax bill, many family farmers will be forced to sell their farms – likely to private equity firms and large corporations who have no interest in looking after our countryside. I understand the challenge of repairing the terrible damage the Conservatives did to both our public services and our public finances, but this tax on family farms is only expected to raise around £115m a year – less than 0.01 per cent of government spending and less than 0.3 per cent of all the tax rises announced by Rachel Reeves in the Budget. Farming subsidies have fallen by 20 per cent in real terms since 2015 – equivalent to the loss of £722m in public funding for farmers.
History of this topic
‘It’s become so tough I’m looking for a second job’: Inside the farming crisis
The Independent
Government urged to do right thing and reverse ‘family farm tax’
The IndependentDiscover Related
