Petition to overturn family farm tax receives over 260k signatures
25th November 2024
NFU confirmed that more than 260,000 people have backed its campaign to reverse the family farm tax, signalling to the government that the public disagrees with the “cruel and ill-thought-out” policy.
At the beginning of November, the union launched a petition to stop the government’s changes to inheritance tax relief on farm property.
On 19th November, 1,800 farmers took part in a mass lobby organised by the NFU to speak out against the changes that could be destructive for many family farms across the country.
The union has confirmed that between Monday 18th November and Wednesday 20th November, the petition increased from 200,000 to 250,000 signatures. Up-to-date, the petition has been signed over 260,000 times.
According to the government’s legislation, if a petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament. Sign the petition here.
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Support for British farmers
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “I want to send a heartfelt thanks to the public from the whole farming community for backing our campaign to overturn the family farm tax. At a time when farmers believe government has lied to them and let them down badly, British farmers and growers are heartened to know that they have the support of so many members of the public.
“Earlier on in the year, the public decided farming was the second most trusted profession in Britain after only nursing. This milestone of support is further confirmation that the public values British farmers and growers for all they provide and believes they deserve more than this badly designed and poorly targeted policy that could decimate working family farms across Britain.
“Ministers must rethink the changes to Agriculture Property Relief and Business Property Relief and protect the people they say they want to. If they don’t, they risk reducing our food security and potential food price rises for shoppers as the cost of producing food increases.”
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