Not too late to pause family farm tax, says NFU Cymru

With just days remaining before the Autumn Budget, the Royal Welsh Winter Fair is set to become a focal point for mounting concern over proposed inheritance tax (IHT) reforms.

Farming unions say these reforms will harm family farms in Wales and UK-wide.

See also: Farmers and Labour MPs unite over family farm tax fears

NFU Cymru is using the two-day winter fair to highlight the “severe consequences” of the tax for agricultural businesses, including personal testimonies from affected families across Wales.

The fair will be held on 24-25 November at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells.

A collective message from fairgoers is due to be delivered to UK government on Tuesday 25 November, the eve of chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget announcement.

Speaking ahead of the winter fair, NFU Cymru president Aled Jones urged the UK government to pause proposed changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR).

Jones said it was “not too late to stop family farm tax damage”.

There is a mounting body of evidence corroborating our position that the changes announced in last Autumn’s Budget will signal disaster for family farms

The renewed campaigning follows more than a year of industry lobbying against Labour’s reforms, which will impose a 20% tax on inherited agricultural assets worth over £1m from April 2026.

The House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee recently examined the UK government’s handling of the proposals.

Treasury estimates of the number of farms affected were challenged, calling for a pause pending a full impact assessment.

Since the report’s publication, a growing number of MPs from Wales and England have echoed concerns raised by farming families.

Mr Jones said: “There is a mounting body of evidence, from an array of reliable sources, corroborating our position that the changes announced in last Autumn’s Budget will signal disaster for family farms.”

He noted support from more than 100 retail and supply-chain bodies, as well as analysis from the independent taxation think tank CenTax calling for amendments.

Mr Jones described widespread distress within the sector over the past year.

He added: “Even after a year of relentless lobbying on this unprecedented issue, it still bewilders me that any government could consider imposing a policy that is likely to deliver such a high degree of damage to small family businesses.”

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has also called on UK government to revisit the reforms and will be present at the winter fair to discuss policy developments and mark its 70th anniversary.

Scots farmers write to MPs

On Friday 21 November, Scottish farmers and crofters, co-ordinated by NFU Scotland, delivered letters to all 37 Scottish Labour MPs, urging opposition to proposed farm IHT changes.

The letters warned reforms to APR and BPR threaten family farms, investment, and generational rural livelihoods.