NFU Cymru has gathered farmers and rural businesses at Pembrokeshire County to emphasise the ripple effect of the UK Government’s damaging inheritance tax reforms.

The union convened a meeting on the opening day of the event on the Haverfordwest Showground to highlight that while the changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) will devastate many farming businesses, the impacts of the policy reach much further than the farm gate.

NFU Cymru has vociferously fought against the UK Government’s planned changes to inheritance tax since last year’s autumn budget announcement1.

Among those attending the meeting was Janet Cornock, who ran a successful dairy herd with her late husband, Gwilym, before his passing in 2018 at the age of just 67.

She now farms the Fishguard enterprise in partnership with her son, James, and his family, with the hope that one day the farm will be passed on for her grandchildren to continue Gwilym’s farming legacy.

However, that prospect has been thrust into severe doubt following the tax bill which will arise from the UK Labour government’s U-turn on a pre-General Election commitment not to alter APR2.

NFU Cymru Deputy President Abi Reader said: “Farmers are in despair that the UK Government is pushing on with its devastating tax raid on small family farms that have, over generations, been the cultural lifeblood of their local communities, driven the local economy and put food on people’s tables.

“We acknowledge the UK Government’s desire to bear down on the practice of purchasing agricultural land as a tax efficient investment by individuals who have no intention of farming the land. However, we have evidenced to UK Government time and again that this ill-thought-out policy will see small family farms become the collateral damage for a policy that returns a negligible amount to the public purse.”