The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has launched a new campaign encouraging farmers to write to their local MPs in a bid to pile pressure on over the proposed changes to the UK inheritance tax.
As the proposed changes to Inheritance Tax and Agricultural Property Relief are finalised over the coming months, the UFU has stated that “now is an extremely critical period.”
The introduction of the capping of inheritance tax reliefs for for farmers and family businesses is due to go into affect on April 6, 2026.
Critical period
The draft legislation was published in July of this year alongside an impact assessment in regards to the changes.
In a statement, UFU president William Irvine said that the Finance Bill will soon be brought forward by the UK government as it prepares to finalise the inheritance tax proposals law.
He said: ” I cannot stress enough how important these individual letters are.
“It cannot be a copy-and-paste job.”
Irvine urged farmers to show MPs the real potential impact of the changes, expressing their heartache, distress, and worry.
The UFU president told farmers to highlight the “generational graft that our families have poured into the land.
“Don’t leave anything unsaid,” Irvine said.
The statement said that guidelines are available on the UFU website to help farmers structure their letter.
The union stated that members can also contact UFU technical officers for assistance in writing their letter.
The union said: “It’s vital that within it, farmers ask their MPs to forward their letter to the Treasury for an appropriate response.”
UFU
Irvine said: “The Treasury has the power to overturn the family farm tax. The horrendous prospect has been looming over us since the autumn budget last year.
“We have pulled out all the stops since then with UK-wide and local campaigns, high-level meetings, local and national protests and letters.”
The president stressed how farmers sharing their stories will show the Treasury that farmers are not giving up.
Irvine added “We must inundate them with personalised letters from NI farmers.
“We are the ones who will be disproportionately affected because NI has more family-run farms and higher land values than other UK regions.”
As the president reminded farmers how close to the deadline it is getting, he urged them to think of the future of farming.
Irvine appealed to farmers by saying: “Do it for your farm and your family, and for the farmers coming behind you.”
The UFU president stated that these actions are important in protecting the future of Northern Ireland’s family farms.
