Farmers for Action (FFA) has indicated that, barring some final tweaks, the UK’s new inheritance tax legislation will become law on April 1, 2026.
The organisation’s spokesperson William Taylor told Agriland: “The issue will be discussed in the House of Lords, where members might introduce some amendments.
“But to all intents and purposes, the new legislation will become reality.
“This follows a vote taken in the House of Commons with undue haste on Monday, January 12.
“It was a move that caught a number of groups with the intention of hosting a large-scale protest in London to coincide with the final vote totally unawares.”
The FFA spokesperson said the UK government “has not yet realised the damage they are doing” to family farmers and family businesses across the nation.
“Nor do they realise the determination of farm organisations and family businesses across the UK to end inheritance tax and other increased business taxes,” he added.
Looking ahead, FFA plans to get legal advice as to whether or not a legal challenge to the new inheritance tax measures can be taken in Northern Ireland.
“This would be very much a test case approach,” Taylor said.
“However, it would reflect the fact that certain aspects of EU law still prevail in Northern Ireland.
“If the test case is taken, it would have the support of myriad farmer groups throughout the UK.”
Mercosur
Meanwhile, FFA is fully supporting the Irish Farmers Association and other farmer lobby groups across Europe in their efforts to have the provisionally signed free trade deal between the EU and the Mercosur group of countries in South America reversed.
“Any support that FFA can deliver in this regard will be made available,” Taylor said.
“Fundamentally, the issue at the heart of the Mercosur deal is that of trading standards.
“So, for example, we cannot have beef coming into Europe from places like Brazil that is produced to lower standards than those expected of farmers in this part of the world.”
The FFA representative also outlined concerns over the potential environmental impact of the trade agreement.
“The Mercosur deal is also paying lip service to the global threat posed by accelerated climate change.
“And this is a reality. Recent days have seen severe flooding impact on the Queensland region of Australia.
“Farmers there are confirming that they have never had to deal with such extremes of weather before.”
“Food security represents a key challenge for the world during the period ahead,” Taylor added.
