A minister and civil servants from the UK Treasury have agreed to meet representatives from the UK farming unions next week to discuss planned changes to inheritance tax.

Treasury officials have had limited interaction with farmer representatives since the controversial changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) were announced in late October.

Ulster Farmers’ Union president William Irvine described next week’s meeting with the Treasury as “a pivotal moment” in the UK-wide campaign against the changes to APR.

“The government needs to understand that sudden deaths, illness, and other unforeseen circumstances mean farm families don’t always have time to implement succession plans. These changes will leave many with tax bills they simply cannot pay,” he said.

Representatives from the UK farming unions are meeting Labour MP James Murray who is the current Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

However, during a debate in Westminster on Monday, Murray stuck firmly to the government’s line that the planned changes to APR will only impact 520 estates across the UK each year.

“I recognise that a small number of estates will have to pay more tax, but the reform of the reliefs is necessary given the fiscal challenge that confronts us,” he told MPs.

Murray also defended the government’s decision to base the policy on historic APR claims, even though farmer representatives and land valuers have argued that the figures are not accurate.

“We believe it is the right data on which to base the reforms,” he maintained.

NI analysis

The latest report to contradict the government’s analysis of the APR changes was published by the NI Rural Valuers’ Association last week.

It found that at least 6,000 farms in NI could be affected by the inheritance tax reform over a generation, which could equate to around 200 farms each year.

“Northern Ireland’s livestock-based farming with more sole ownership and higher land values suggest its farmers face a greater impact,” the report reads.

At Stormont on Tuesday, a non-binding motion which opposed the changes to APR was supported by all MLAs with the exception of Gerry Carroll from People Before Profit.

In particular, Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir highlighted the part of the motion which stated that the changes to APR “threaten the viability of family farms”.

“This is not scare tactics. On the basis of my department’s analysis and my engagement with farmers, farming unions and land value experts, that outcome is a real possibility,” he said.