The DUP Agriculture spokesperson said: “The pre-Christmas announcement brought relief for many, but it’s nothing more than a half-baked compromise that safeguards a proportion of family farms and discriminates against others.

“What we have here is yet another ill-thought-out policy which also fails to take inflation into account. Raising the threshold from £1m to £2.5m per person softens the blow, but it certainly doesn’t eliminate the financial burden that numerous landowners will face on the death of a loved one.

“Fourteen-months ago, the Chancellor delivered a budget which ripped the heart and soul out of farming communities UK-wide. Since then, her proposals have inflicted nothing but unnecessary turmoil and anguish for generations of farmers who toil on a daily basis to enhance and safeguard the family legacy for the next generation.”

The MP added: “Farmers have been driven to the depths of despair, and as a result, we’ve seen record farm closures, and heart-breaking personal tragedies across the UK. Meanwhile, the government has shown no remorse, or offered any apology for its vindictive and immoral actions. Even now, Ministers won’t accept the figures were flawed and they got it badly wrong.

“Removing historical APR and BPR is fundamentally unfair, threatens livelihoods and succession planning, and also jeopardises national food security.”

Carla Lockhart MP has relentlessly opposed the inheritance tax proposals from day one, and has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with farmers, industry leaders and farming unions. “It has been a long, but worthwhile campaign. The government didn’t suddenly move to rectify its wrongs, it’s hand was forced, simply because the agri-food industry stood united and refused to be ignored. What we really want is a complete U-turn, not a partial one.

“The farming community needs transparency so it can try to regain confidence in the government. It’s now up to Ministers to be held accountable and publish a full impact assessment – I assume there is one – so that we can all clearly check the figures on which this decision is based.

“This announcement may reduce the immediate pressure on some, while a significant number of family farms, particularly in Northern Ireland, where land values are high and incomes are low, will still be physically and financially devastated by this ‘death tax’. “

Ms Lockhart continued: “Farmers are asset rich and cash poor. Many farms will be worth in excess of £2.5m, while their owner is working round the clock for less than the minimum wage. With volatile farmgate prices and rising costs of production, farmers will be forced to sell assets just to honour crippling death duties.

“HM Treasury claims that by raising the threshold to £2.5m, the number of estates impacted will fall from 375 to 185 annually, raising £300m for government coffers.

She added: “Government officials continuously claim they’ve “got the balance right” – they haven’t!

“This policy continues to threaten and undermine the future of our farming industry. How can a farm valued at £5m, be exempt from inheritance tax if owned by two individuals, while another of the same value which is in sole ownership, will incur a tax bill of £500,000? This not a fair policy from a government claiming to make responsible choices to support the farming community.

“The only fair and sensible solution is the complete abolition of this deeply flawed proposal.”



Concluding, Carla Lockhart MP said: “I have warned all along that there is too much at stake to get this wrong. The Finance Bill will come under further scrutiny in the House of Commons over the next number of weeks. I will continue to challenge the government and hold it accountable on this reckless policy.”