North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan calls for the Government to 'scrap the family farm tax' in Westminster Hall debate

Shropshire Star

A Shropshire MP has claimed that nearly 300 farms within her constituency will be affected by the 'family farm tax'.  North Shropshire MP, Helen Morgan has addressed Parliament reinstating her call to 'axe the family farm tax' as thousands of farmers descended on Westminster and gridlocked roads with tractors yesterday.

Transcript

00:00It's a pleasure to serve with you in the chair and I also thank the Honourable Member for

00:05South Norfolk for opening the debate today. Now it's the first time North Shropshire has

00:09been in the top 10 constituencies in a petition. 713 people have signed and that's not surprising

00:15when you think that there are over a thousand farms in the constituency covering 62,000

00:19hectares. It's one of the 20 most rural constituencies in the country. And producing food for the

00:25country is our main activity, not just in farming and the thousands of people supporting

00:30those farms, but food production, food storage and food distribution all being major industries

00:34as well. Now farmers have had a tough time. Incomes are historically low and those farmers

00:40can ill afford to pay inheritance tax when an estate sadly passes on. The government

00:45estimates that 288 farms will be affected in Shropshire, in North Shropshire, and even

00:50if that's not an underestimate, which we strongly suspect it is, that's a whopping 27% of the

00:55farms in my constituency. More than a quarter will have to sell off land rather than further

01:00invest in the rural economy and that is shocking. I will give way.

01:06I thank my Honourable Friend for giving way. These policy changes could force hundreds

01:12of family farmers in my constituency of Stratford-on-Avon to sell their productive land. Does my Honourable

01:18Friend agree that as well as causing uncertainty to tenant farmers, these policies undermine

01:26our ability to address the threats to food security without discouraging those who land

01:32bank for tax purposes?

01:33Well I do agree with my Honourable Friend and I will come on to that point in a moment.

01:38I just want to mention Robert whose family farm has been forming a traditional mixed

01:45dairy and arable farm for 120 years near Oswestry. Their farm is valued at £6 million

01:49which sounds like a lot but their income is only £60,000 a year. So even if the £3 million

01:56dual relief that we've been told about by the Treasury applies, it would wipe out their

01:59income for 10 years to pay it off and in fact they estimate their liability would be higher

02:04than that. And it's not just traditional farms that are affected, rental businesses, nurseries,

02:11horticultural businesses, all fearing that they can't pass on their business at the time

02:15of death as a result of this ill-thought-through policy.

02:19Now the Chancellor wanted to put off wealthy non-farmers from buying land to avoid inheritance

02:22tax but I reckon if you are able to get 20% with 10 years to pay us off, that's a pretty

02:29attractive alternative to paying 40% now. And with such a low threshold of £1 million,

02:34many small farmers will be left with a liability they simply can't afford to pay because land

02:39does not translate to cash unless you sell it.

02:43This tax doesn't achieve its mission at all. The idea that farms can survive this isn't

02:47true. Years of being taken for granted by the Conservatives have left farms in a desperate

02:51state. 8,000 farms shut their doors last year, that's one in 25, and farm incomes have been

02:57dropping year on year. It's down to a number of factors, soaring inflation, which was beyond

03:02the Government's control, and the botched implementation of the SFI which wasn't. The

03:07disastrous trade deals with Australia, New Zealand and the CPTPP have set an alarming

03:11precedent, especially when the President of the United States is holding anyone to ransom

03:17who doesn't give him what he wants in terms of trade tariffs. The Government must protect

03:22the farming budget. We need our family farms to thrive, for economic growth which is so

03:28crucial in rural areas, to produce our food and to protect our environment. There is still

03:33time to reverse this disastrous decision. I urge the Government to listen to these valid

03:38concerns and demonstrate its commitment to rural Britain. Let's axe this family farm

03:42tax.

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