Farming and Inheritance Tax
Debate between James Murray and Anna Dixon(1 month, 4 weeks ago)
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James Murray
No, that is not the case. The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Daniel Zeichner), who will be responding at the end of this debate, can set out more about what the Government are doing to support farmers in their work on land management across the country.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
I backed British farming ahead of the general election, and I back the farmers in my constituency. I am proud to sit on these Benches with a Labour Government who are backing British farmers with an investment of £5 billion in the recent Budget. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is absolutely essential that we make sure that the money gets into the pockets of our farmers? My farmers complain about the delays that they experienced when the Conservative party was in power.
James Murray
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to the mismanagement under the previous Government and to how important it is that, through the commitments we made in the Budget on the farming budget over the next two years, we support farmers across the country as evidence of our steadfast support.
I recognise that the reforms we are making to agricultural and business property relief will have an impact on some individuals. I recognise that some of the larger estates, particularly those worth over £3 million, may be affected by the changes, but the reforms to the reliefs will maintain significant levels of relief from inheritance tax, at a total Exchequer cost of over £1 billion in the year that the reforms take effect, before rising further. They offer support for family farms and businesses across the country. We could not justify leaving the situation unchanged, with a full, unlimited tax relief benefiting a very small number of estates by a very significant amount.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between James Murray and Anna Dixon(3 months ago)
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James Murray
The right hon. Member will have to wait for the Budget tomorrow. She was a Minister not that long ago, so she might still remember that the Budget is the time when such announcements are made. Let me restate our commitment, so it is crystal clear, that we will protect working people by not increasing national insurance, income tax or VAT. Might I add, very briefly, that I note the Conservatives suddenly have a new-found interest in the livelihoods of working people? It is a shame, frankly, that they never prioritised that during their 14 years in office, during which, time and again, they made working people pay for their mistakes.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)