I write on behalf of Membury Parish Council.
Since HM Government made its autumn budget announcement and in particular the proposals to introduce Inheritance Tax on farms over the value of £1m, we have been discussing how this measure will impact our local community.
Like you, we are a small rural parish, containing a considerable number of family-owned farms. Though these days, it is only a minority of our parishioners who work directly on farms, there are a significant minority who work in businesses associated with the farming industry. All our residents, regardless of their work status, have chosen to live in a rural community, by its nature a community that has been shaped and continues to be shaped by farming. As a result, we are deeply concerned about the impact that this new tax will have on the farming communities in our parish.
You will see from the attached discussion paper that research conducted by the NFU demonstrates that 75% of farming families will be adversely affected by this proposed tax. The research notes that, given the marginal nature of farming today, the proposed taxes are not affordable for most medium sized farms, typical of our area.
As a result, we are distributing this paper to gauge how other parishes in the Blackdown Hills see this issue and to see whether there is an appetite to start a concerted campaign of lobbying our local MPs, with the aim of getting them to represent our disagreement with this policy to Central Government.
We look forward to hearing from you as soon as is practicable, initially directing your responses to our clerk Bethany Laycock at clerk@memburyparishcouncil.gov.uk.
In the meantime, we wish you the best for 2025,
Yours faithfully,
David Noyes
Chair, Membury Parish Council