Tax threatens fields that feed us

At a time when the government claims to champion a resilient, sustainable food system, its inheritance tax reform proposals risk undermining the very foundation of that vision: Britain’s family farms.

Draft legislation, due to take effect in April 2026, would see a 20% inheritance tax levied on farming assets worth over £1 million. Ministers say the move is aimed at curbing tax avoidance by wealthy individuals buying farmland.

But the policy doesn’t just miss the mark—it hits entirely the wrong target. As the NFU rightly warns, the measure would not deter speculative buyers. Instead, it places long-established farm businesses—many of which have been in families for generations—under financial threat.

Working farmers

These are not absentee landowners seeking tax shelters. They are working farmers whose wealth is bound up in the land, the machinery, and the legacy they intend to pass on.

Strip that away, and you don’t just fracture a family business – you jeopardise a domestic food system already under strain.

There is a credible alternative on the table. The NFU’s proposed ‘clawback’ mechanism would allow the Treasury to recover tax revenue if land is sold for non-agricultural purposes within a set period. It targets speculative gain without punishing active producers.

So why isn’t the government listening?

Mixed messages

The refusal of Chancellor Rachel Reeves to meet farming representatives to discuss the issue is both baffling and deeply worrying.

Food security is, as the government itself has said, national security. But the mixed messages coming out of Downing Street are stark.

On one hand, government ministers promote the ‘Good Food Cycle’, talking up collaboration and sustainability. On the other, they press ahead with a policy that could uproot the very people delivering that vision.

If this government is serious about building a food system for the future, it must show it is willing to listen now. Agriculture cannot be an afterthought. The backbone of the countryside—our farmers—deserve fair, workable policy.

There is still time to rethink this tax. The question is whether ministers have the political will to do so before irreversible damage is done.

Johann Tasker

Editor