Cowbit farmer supports fight against inheritance tax by joining protest in London
A fourth generation farmer has warned that the Government’s plans for inheritance tax could destroy our food security.
Cowbit’s William Tyrrell was among the thousands of farmers who went along to the protests in London in fight against changes to the to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) taxation.
The Government will be collecting a 20% tax rate on agricultural assets valued over £1million following the measure announced in the October budget - and says this is to fund public services such as the NHS.
But the NFU has disputed officials’ claims that around three quarters of farm businesses in England will be unaffected by the changes but is also arguing that few viable farms are worth under £1 million and that the Treasury is working off the wrong figures.
Another south Lincolnshire farmer, Zara Dorrington, also attended Tuesday’s protests in a bid to highlight the issue.
William fears that these measures will place more agricultural land in the hands of people who don’t pay tax such as offshore investors.
He said: “With what they are planning to do at the moment there will not be a next generation of farmers coming through.
“What they are doing will break up family-owned businesses and push the land into the hands of large wealthy corporate bodies, offshore investors and people that don't pay tax anyway and get rid of traditional family farms in south Lincolnshire and beyond.
“This has the potential to destroy our food security and break up or see farms sold to pay a large tax bill, destroying generations of work to make sure people have nutritious British food on their plates.”
William farms alongside his father Trevor in Cowbit where they produce cereal crops, sugar beet, pumpkins and flowers for the British wholesale market including daffodils, delphiniums and other traditional cottage garden varieties.
The family suffered a blow earlier this year when their land in the Cowbit and Crowland Wash was out of action for several months after being flooded by the River Welland in Storm Henk after a bank collapsed.
William was part of a South Lincolnshire NFU delegation who met with MP Sir John Hayes following the mass lobby event where farmers and growers heard from NFU President Tom Bradshaw.
He added: “The NFU, its members and all farming families have to see what we can do about this abhorrent tax on our family farms and the industry is united on this.
“We cannot be divided on this and I hope my MP will understand more about what is at stake from this tax and make the case strongly on our behalf.”
“I have not met a farmer who is not going to be affected by these tax changes in some way.”
Sir John, who also supported the protest, has asked three questions in Parliament on the issue.
He asked the chancellor for the number of farmers in South Holland and the Deepings were affected by the changes, what external organisations were consulted prior to the reforms and whether an impact assessment was conducted.
He said: “I’ve been clear that the Government must change course and reverse the damaging changes announced in the budget to APR and BPR, and I will continue to do all I can to make the case to Ministers for the people we rely upon to feed the nation.”
