Pembrokeshire County Council is set to discuss a motion opposing new inheritance tax changes that could heavily impact family farms in the region.
Recently, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that farmers would now have to pay a 20% inheritance tax on agricultural property and land valued over £1 million. For couples, there’s a £3 million threshold when passing on their farms. This is a huge shift from the previous rules, where family farms had some relief.
Councillor Aled Thomas is pushing for the council to oppose these changes. He believes that scrapping Agricultural Property Relief (APR) could really hurt over 70,000 family farms. He’s worried that many farming families could end up with a tax bill of at least £240,000, which might force them to sell parts of their land or even shut down their farms altogether.
The motion aims to protect family farms and keep them in the hands of local communities. It calls for the council to stand up against this new tax and to support initiatives that help younger farmers get into the business.
Interestingly, there were some claims about MP Henry Tufnell having insider info on these tax changes, but his team denied it. They said it’s unlikely he knew anything before the budget was announced. They also mentioned that his parents acted on professional advice regarding their estate, which is something all farmers should think about given the new tax landscape.