Government rules concessions on tax

THE Environment Secretary has ruled out further concessions over the introduction of inheritance tax for farming businesses.

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(Jonathan Buckmaster)

Speaking at a conference in Oxford, Emma Reynolds said the Government had listened to the concerns of farmers over the controversial plans to levy inheritance tax on their businesses and had “significantly increased” the threshold at which they would have to pay the tax.

Just before Christmas, the Government announced it was raising the inheritance tax relief threshold for farmers from £1 million to £2.5 million in a climbdown following months of protests over the original plans unveiled in 2024.

When asked at the Oxford Farming Conference yesterday if farmers were right to continue to push for further inheritance tax reforms, Ms Reynolds replied: “That's it, I'm afraid.”

As farmers protested outside the conference venue and sounded their tractor horns, she said: “May I also say, with the greatest respect to those outside, it’s the people in this room who have engaged with us constructively, and relatively quietly, that have had an influence on this process, and not the people sounding their horns.”

Speaking to journalists after her speech, Ms Reynolds described the inheritance tax row as an issue “personal” to her and one she cares “deeply” about.

Reiterating “that’s it” for inheritance tax reforms, the Environment Secretary added she has “no idea” what message protesters outside the conference venue wanted to convey.