Ministers cave in over farm inheritance tax

THE government will raise the inheritance tax relief threshold for farmers from £1m to £2.5m in a climbdown following months of protest.

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The change to the reforms initially unveiled at Labour's Budget last year comes after ministers "listened to concerns" of the farming community and businesses, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said on Tuesday.

The original plans to raise money as farmers pass their businesses from generation to generation triggered protests with tractors outside Parliament and criticism from some Labour MPs in rural seats.

And Baroness Minette Batters, the former head of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), who led an independent review for the government, warned that the proposals had led to farmers contemplating suicide to avoid the tax changes.