A Suffolk MP has slammed a Government Minister for declining a meeting with local farmers over controversial incoming tax proposals.
South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge accused the Labour Government of ‘a total failure to engage on this existential policy issue’, after his request to meet the Treasury Minister overseeing the tax changes was turned down.
From April 2026, inheritance tax exemptions available to farming businesses are set to be reduced, through reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief.
The plans have faced significant opposition with the agricultural sector, with objectors labelling the reforms as the ‘family farm tax’, due to their fears around the impact on family businesses.
Letters seen by the Suffolk Free Press reveal the Conservative invited the Exchequer Secretary James Murray to attend a meeting with farmers from South Suffolk, to hear their concerns.
However, last week, Mr Murray stated he could not accept the invitation because of competing demands, but added that he had discussed the reforms with many agricultural organisations since the 2024 Autumn Budget.
The Minister insisted that, even after the reforms take effect, agricultural and business assets will still be taxed at ‘a much lower effective rate than most other assets’.
In response, Mr Cartlidge claimed all of the farmers he had spoken to told him they would be ‘significantly damaged’ by the tax changes.
“This outright refusal from Exchequer Secretary James Murray to even meet my local farmers, let alone consider a different policy, represents a total failure by Labour to engage on this existential policy issue for the future of farming as we know it,” he said.
“I cannot express enough my massive disappointment and frustration at this rejection of a simple meeting request.
“If Treasury Ministers won’t even meet the farmers their tax is going to punish, how on earth can they understand the likely impact of their plans?”
In response to the concerns raised about the forthcoming changes to inheritance tax, Exchequer Secretary James Murray stated that significant support for the farming industry will continue.
He highlighted the commitments in the Government’s Spending Review, including £5 billion for the Farming and Countryside Programme, and £2.7bn a year for sustainable farming and nature recovery.
In his letter to South Suffolk MP James Cartlidge, Mr Murray said the Government’s commitment to farming ‘remains steadfast’.
“Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992,” he wrote.
“Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
“The reforms should also be seen in the broader context of the significant existing support for the farming industry in the wider tax system, which the Government is maintaining.
“The existing rules already provide considerable support for the agricultural sector beyond the general support for businesses.”
However, Mr Cartlidge criticised the attempts to minimise the impact of the tax reforms.
“Despite the Government’s insistence that inheritance tax changes will only affect a tiny percentage of farms, every family farm that I have visited since the announcement of the tax will be negatively affected,” he said.
“In many cases, it will be to a degree that threatens the future viability of the farm in question.
“This refusal to meet also comes at a time when farms are closing at the fastest pace on record, something which should be causing great concern for the Government.
“Frankly, the custodians of our food security deserve better, and I will continue doing all I can to support them.”
Published by Suffolk News.
