Farming leaders’ fury as Treasury stands firm on inheritance tax change

Agricultural leaders left a meeting with the Treasury with “boiling blood” after the Government faced down their arguments to rethink proposed changes to inheritance tax on farms.

Exchequer Secretary James Murray and farming minister Daniel Zeichner spoke to representatives of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA), the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV) in Westminster on Tuesday morning.

The ministers stood firm on proposals to introduce a 20% inheritance tax rate on agricultural land and businesses worth more than £1 million, essentially scrapping an exemption which meant no tax was paid to pass down family farms.

The plans continue to face intense opposition from the sector, which says cash-poor, asset-rich farmers will be forced to sell their land, investment will stall, and the families of elderly or vulnerable farmers who do not have time for succession planning will be the most affected.

“Really cross”

Despite ongoing farmer protests, Labour has insisted it will not reconsider the proposed changes, which are due to come into force from April 2026.

Following the meeting, NFU president Tom Bradshaw told reporters that the group of representatives were “really cross today”.

He said the Government showed “no movement” on the policy after they outlined their concerns and put forward solutions.

“The Government resolutely believe that they are correct and that they are generous in the exemptions they are giving us,” he said.

“They don’t care about the human impact. They don’t care about the intergenerational impact. They don’t care about the impact on tenant farmers and the geopolitical situation that the world faces today.”

Mr Bradshaw said the Government rebuffed their proposed suggestion for a “clawback” mechanism, which would ensure farms face tax charges only when assets are sold.

“The door is shut from the Treasury,” he said before adding: “The reaction from our members is going to be one of fury, one of real anger, one of desperation that we’ve seen over recent months and it’s what we all feel here today”.

“Deaf”

Victoria Vyvyan, CLA president, said: “I looked around the room and thought, ‘I’m not sure that there is anybody in this room who really understood when Tom was talking about what a balance sheet looks like.

“I didn’t think there was anybody in the room who knew what profit and loss looks like.

“They were just adamant and deaf to what we were trying to say.

“And I think we all came out slightly with boiling blood about it.”

Sector representatives have already spoken Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer among other officials to discuss the dispute but Tuesday marked the first time they met with the Treasury.

They continue to criticise Chancellor Rachel Reeves for not meeting them as they claim the Government has little understanding of the rural economy and has launched an attack on farmers.

Ahead of the meeting on Tuesday, the NFU, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland, CLA, TFA and CAAV, urged the Treasury to listen to UK farmers, growers, food retailers and other firms in the supply chain who have called for a change to the policy.

“Across every part of agriculture and its associated industries, and across every part of the UK, the message to the Treasury is the same – work with us to find solutions,” they said.

The Government has repeatedly sought to reset relations with the sector in recent weeks after the proposed inheritance tax changes emerged as a political flashpoint for an industry crippled by rising costs, tough market conditions and worsening climate impacts.

The PA news agency has contacted the Treasury for comment.