By Rebecca Hannant
East Riding councillors have voted to back a motion opposing the Government’s planned inheritance tax reforms.
On Wednesday, January 8, South East Holderness Conservative councillor Sean McMaster submitted a motion before a full meeting of East Riding Council asking for support in opposing the changes announced in the October Budget.
Proposed reforms to the Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) for estates with assets worth more than £1 million have been met with widespread opposition from farmers across the UK.
They fear that the changes could destabilise their industry, threaten food security, put the rural economy at risk, and force farmers out of business instead of passing their assets on to future generations.
Cllr McMaster (pictured with fellow South East Holderness councillor Lyn Healing) asked that the council show its support for the East Riding’s farmers by writing to the Chancellor, Environment Secretary and the Prime Minister himself “to encourage them to think again and reverse the changes to inheritance tax and capital gains tax on farmers. Farmers say that the changes announced by the UK Government will threaten to destabilise not only family-owned farms and businesses, but our food security and rural economy.”
Cllr McMaster said that he was motivated to submit the motion after he had seen that more than 20 other authorities in the UK had done similar. However, he was concerned that these were in rural areas such as Devon, Cornwall and Buckinghamshire, with none in the North.
Prior to the full council meeting at County Hall in Beverley on Wednesday, more than 85 farmers from across the region and beyond staged a tractor rally on Beverley Westwood, before heading through the town centre.
During the meeting, 51 ward representatives voted in favour of the motion, with five against and one abstention.
The council will now write to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to demonstrate its opposition to the changes.
Cllr McMaster said afterwards: “Naturally I am incredibly pleased that the motion received such overwhelming support from colleagues at East Riding Council.
“Of course, as local councillors our powers are limited, and we cannot change government policy. However, I am hoping that this message is delivered to the Government in Westminster that we will not take this policy lying down, and that we fully support our farmers.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs reiterated its previous comment, saying: “Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast – we have committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years, including more money than ever for sustainable food production, and we are developing a 25-year farming roadmap, focusing on how to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come.
“Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Relief will impact around 500 estates a year. For these estates, inheritance tax will be at half the rate paid by others, with 10 years to pay the liability back interest free.
“This is a fair and balanced approach which fixes the public services we all rely on.”
