Esther McVey has re-iterated her call for Labour to drop its ‘brutal Family Farm Tax’ which will devastate family farms in Tatton and across the UK.
The Tatton MP Esther said her local farmers were extremely worried about what this change to inheritance tax would do to them.
Speaking in a debate in Parliament on the impact changes will have on farmers, Ms McVey said: “This brutal change to inheritance tax, let’s call it what it is - a family farm tax - will destroy family farms and will destroy farming in the UK as we know it. It makes a nonsense of Labour believing in UK food security and government need to U turn straight away.
“The question I am being asked now by my farmers is, did this policy come about because they did not know what they were doing and a lack of knowledge by the Labour Party about the farming community or will we look back at this and see it for what it is, theft by the state of land from private owners.”
Ms McVey has been vocal in her opposition since the changes were announced and has repeatedly called for government to drop the policy.
From next April farms worth more than £1million will no longer be exempt from paying inheritance tax (when passing on landholdings to family). Previously, they were given a tax break under Agricultural Property Relief (APR).
The Tatton MP said it is clear the Labour Party does not understand farmers or the industry and hold incorrect views that all farmers are “rich” and will be able to find the cash to pay the tax bill.
She added: “Farmers have been clear, they are asset rich, cash poor. The money to pay huge sums in inheritance tax is not there and the only way to raise that money is to sell off land. That then throws the future of the businesses into jeopardy because there may not be enough land to continue farming on. There is a complete lack of understanding from government over this, both in terms of land needed to farm and also what this would do to food security, food prices and the industry as a whole.
“There is also the question of whether government know exactly what it is doing or simply want land back. This is what some of my local farmers believe.”
Government claims only the biggest farms will be affected, a claim strongly disputed by farmers up and down the country. It is estimated that just 100 acres of land could be enough land to reach the threshold. Farmers say to make a business viable upwards of 200 acres are needed and for many that runs into thousands of acres.
