Rural uprising over British tax change that critics say will hammer family farms
LONDON — The countryside came to the capital as thousands of farmers packed into London streets around Britain’s Parliament to protest changes to tax rules.
LONDON — The countryside came to the capital as thousands of farmers packed into London streets around Britain’s Parliament to protest changes to tax rules.
Some drove tractors, others brought hay bales, many carried signs saying “no farms, no food.” All were protesting against the new Labour government’s decision to tax inherited agricultural property.
“British farmers make less than 1% profit,” Tom Bradshaw, the president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), said in a statement to NBC News shortly after last week’s protests. “They don’t have the money in the bank to pay this proposed family farm tax.”
It was the first major demonstration in London since Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s center-left Labour government took power in July. Rachel Reeves, his finance minister, announced the changes, which are set to come into effect in April 2026, in her annual budget last month.
Similar to estate tax in the U.S., inheritance tax in the U.K. is charged at 40% on the property, possessions and money of someone who has died, above a threshold of 325,000 pounds, or around $410,000. A spousal exemption means married couples and civil partners can pool their allowances to pass on up to $1.2 million to their heirs tax-free.
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