Inheritance tax poses difficult decisions for Northern Ireland farmers
Getting your head around numbers can sometimes be a difficult task. Even more so when it comes to taxes.That's exactly what Northern Ireland's farming community has had to do though, in just a few months.At the end of 2024, the Labour government said it was going to remove relief on inheritance tax for farmers.
From April 2026, agricultural assets which total over £1m will be taxed at a rate of 20%.That includes animals, buildings and land - with change now looming for many farms in Northern Ireland.Farms have been exempt from Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief for many years but that could now be changing.It was a decision not welcomed by many farmers then, and even now, including dairy farmer Keith Agnew.He runs a large operation just outside of Newry, Co Down.'The simple fact is that the sector isn't profitable enough whenever you count the valuation of property, to be able to sustain this for one generation, never mind two.'Keith spoke to UTV at Markethill Livestock Sales in Co Armagh. Dairy and beef cattle were being sold on the day of filming and interest was still strong, but under it all, lay concern for what the future holds.Hampton Hewitt is the man behind the microphone and the man who coordinates the sales. 'They (the government) have brought these proposals in, genuinely without thinking about it and not realising the knock-on effect,' he said.He added that he was worried about the 'long-term' effects on farmers and other industries.One way farms can be exempt from the new proposals is if the family farm is gifted, but the donor must live on it for seven years thereafter.Timothy Kinnear was forced into adapting, not by his own choice.His father John died in 2017, leaving the family farm in Derrynoose to his mother Shirley before she passed it on to Timothy.'Something so simple can absolutely obliterate farming,' he told UTV.'If they (the government) don't watch themselves, they will do away with Irish produce.'If inheritance tax hit me today, I would have to sell a third of the place and if I was to sell a third of the place there wouldn't be enough income to support me or if I was to have a future family.'The Ulster Farmers' Union is urging the government to take on the concerns of farmers in Northern Ireland.'It is gut-wrenching and really does pull on the heartstrings, some of the things which farmers are actually considering,' said James McCluggage from the union.'We need to see some sort of morality clause in there for the elderly, for the disabled, for those who are incapacitated, that [sic] can't make a decision or cannot get plans in place at the moment.'The government says the changes won't affect every farmer and that they are necessary to better fund public services.In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'Our commitment to farming and food security is steadfast, which is why we've allocated a record £11.8billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. 'We are also slashing costs and red tape for food producers to export to the EU, have appointed former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend reforms to boost farmers' profits, and we're ensuring farmers get a bigger share of food contracts across our schools, hospitals, and prisons.'For now, the industry looks determined to continue speaking up as farmers prepare to count the cost of change, whatever it may be.
On Friday UTV were joined by Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir to address the central issues within the farming community.
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