BOSSES have claimed that food costs will soar after Reeves’ inheritance tax raid as farmers claim they’re “four meals away from anarchy”.
Senior business leaders have issued a stark warning about the future of domestic food production after the Chancellor imposed an inheritance tax on farming assets over £1 million.
GettyFarmers claim the tax raid will lead to a decrease in food production in the UK[/caption]
AlamyRachel Reeves has been slammed by farmers over Labour’s inheritance tax raid[/caption]
AlamyVictoria Atkins said the policy change will make the UK more reliant on ‘foreign imports’[/caption]
The Prime Minister now faces pressure from both MPs and industry to meet with farmers over the impact of the tax raid.
Nigel Murray, managing director of supermarket Booths, warned that the changes could harm Britain’s ability to produce its own food, possibly leading to higher supermarket prices.
He added: “Over time there is a real risk that domestic food production could be eroded.”
Around 60 per cent of the food on UK shelves is produced by British farmers but they’re becoming less motivated to continue farming, according to Nigel.
He added that this could lead to an overreliance on food from overseas where the welfare of animals may be overlooked.
Victoria Atkins, the shadow environment secretary, said the inheritance tax raid is set to raise prices, disrupt food production and “make British farmers less competitive”.
She told the Telegraph: “It will make us more reliant on foreign imports, just at the exact time we should be doing the opposite.”
The UK currently imports only 40 per cent of its food, with British farmers producing most of the cereals, meat, dairy, and eggs consumed in the country.
Victoria accused ministers of ignoring experts, despite many openly opposing the tax increase on farmers.
Tom Bradshaw, President of the National Farmers Union (NFU), claimed that Reeves’ decision would lead to future families losing their farms.
He also warned that the impact poses a “real threat to our long-term food security,” as farmers may become unwilling to invest in the future.
The head of Associated British Foods (ABF), the FTSE 100 company that owns Primark, stated that this is yet another setback for the farming community, which has been exploited for years.
George Weston, CEO of ABF, expressed his hope that policy decisions would support increased food security and boost UK food production.
The changes have already had a tragic impact, as a farmer took his own life out of fear of the Government’s inheritance tax raid, his son reported.
John Charlesworth, 78, was found dead at his farm in Barnsley, Yorkshire, on Tuesday, just 24 hours before the budget was announced.
His son, Jonathan, 46, revealed that the father-of-two took his own life after struggling with the fear of losing the family’s £2 million estate, which had been in the family since 1957.
Agricultural land was previously exempt from inheritance tax, encouraging farmers to pass the land on to their children.
DISTRESS TO FAMILIES
However, this has raised concerns about wealthy individuals buying land as a way to avoid tax.
Under the Chancellor’s new tax policy, farming assets over £1 million will be subject to a 20 per cent death duty, set to take effect from April 2026.
The Treasury claimed that the new policy would only affect a small minority of farms, but the NFU disputes this, claiming around three-quarters of food produced by British farmers will be affected.
Nigel from Booths added that the challenges farmers face have a significant impact on the entire food industry in the UK.
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the Government’s new tax policy deeply concerns him and is causing significant distress to families.
The Liberal Democrat MP also urged the Chancellor to consider the impact this will have on the UK’s food security.
The president of the NFU revealed that he is eager to meet with Sir Kier Starmer or Rachel Reeves to discuss the negative impacts the tax raid will have on food production.
A Labour MP has also urged the Prime Minister to meet with the farmers impacted by his new policy.
Despite calls for a meeting between the two parties, a Downing Street spokesman declined to make any firm commitments.
Earlier this week, Tom from the NFU met with Environment Secretary Steve Reed, but no changes were made to the tax raid, with ministers continuing to support the policy shift.
The Environment Secretary instead suggested to BBC’s Farming Today that the media had been exaggerating the impact of the change.
He claimed that many news headlines had been misleading and urged people not to believe everything they read.
A government spokesperson stated that its committed to supporting farmers and assured that the majority will not be negatively affected by the tax changes.
They added: “It’s why we have committed £5billion to the farming budget over two years – more money than ever for sustainable food production.”
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
