Urgent call by Devon politician for ‘family farm tax’ to be withdrawn

An urgent motion calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Government’s proposed changes to inheritance tax for farmers will be debated by Devon’s policymakers next month.

Councillor Lois Samuel (Conservative, Okehampton Rural), a member of the ruling Conservative cabinet at Devon County Council, has proposed a motion to be debated by the full council meeting in December.
Cllr Samuel said the imposition of inheritance tax by Labour was a “threat to the existence of many family farms”.
The move comes in a week where farmers protested in their thousands in Westminster against the changes.
Devon is a particularly rural county, with an estimated 8,500 agricultural holdings according to a House of Commons briefing paper.
The county council says nearly 20,000 people in Devon work on farms, with more than 1.2 million acres of the county’s countryside being farmed, with the largest concentrations being in Mid devon, Torridge and North Devon.
Cllr Samuel claimed the move would jeopardise this country’s food security, environmental safeguards and the rural way of life which depends on farming.
“This is an assault on thousands of farmers who work hard every day of the year to put food on our tables and just want to pass on their farms to their sons and daughters,” she said.
“It’s estimated the tax will affect over 70,000 family farms and leave the average farming family with a tax bill of at least £240,000.
“That will force many farmers to sell some of their land or close entirely, and that will just pave the way for corporate ownership over family ownership.”
The government says its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief will mean inheritance tax will be charged to around 500 previously exempt estates, whereas lobby groups such as the Country Land and Business Association reckon closer to 70,000 could be affected.
In the 2021/22 tax year, HM Revenue and Customs said 462 farms were inherited that were valued above £1 million, and which would therefore face the proposed 20 per cent rate – which is half the usual inheritance tax rate for individuals.
Nevertheless, campaigners such as Cllr Samuel are concerned about the impact on farmers and the country.
“Selling off land or closing farms will put our national food independence at risk, at a time when global stability is already fragile,” she said.
“British family farms are critical to ensuring a steady supply of homegrown food.
“Family farms are the foundation of rural Britain, contributing to local jobs, schools, and essential services. Labour’s proposed tax risks destabilising communities, eroding the rural way of life, and causing a negative ripple effect across the countryside.
“Devon County Council should stand with our family farms, support our rural communities, and protect the environment by formally rejecting this proposed ‘family farm tax’”.
Cllr Samuel will propose her motion to full council, which starts at 2:15pm on Thursday 5 December at County Hall, Exeter.