Farmers stage fresh tractor tax protests across the UK

Farmers have warned that Labour’s controversial tractor tax could “decimate” the country’s agricultural sector as they staged fresh protests across the UK.

- MILLIE COOKE

Rachel Hallos, a livestock farmer from the South Pennines and the vice president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), said the decision to extend inheritance tax to cover agricultural properties is something members are “really worried” about.

Farmers gathered at protests yesterday as they stepped up their campaign against the tax raid, which means farms valued at £1m or more would be liable for 20 per cent inheritance tax. The NFU staged a series of events as part of a so-called National Day of Unity, with farmers bringing food, tractors and livestock to town centres across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The events took place after a petition signed by more than 270,000 members of the public was handed to 10 Downing Street on Friday by NFU president Tom Bradshaw and NFU Cymru president Aled Jones, urging the government to ditch what they described as the “devastating family farm tax”.

Ms Hallos said she hoped the latest protests would “raise awareness” of the impact of the planned reforms to inheritance tax for farming businesses, and push the government to review its decision.

Speaking on her way to an event in Chester, Cheshire, she said: “The inheritance tax changes from the Budget will ultimately decimate what we’ve currently got in this country, and we’re really worried about it. Today is about telling people why we are so concerned, trying to explain how complicated the food supply chain is, because it really is, and that farmers are at the beginning of that food supply chain.”