Budget: Family farm tax will be utterly devastating for rural Scotland

Responding to the UK Government’s changes to Agricultural Property Relief, Scottish Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael MP said:

“I fear that the Treasury does not realise the damage that this change to inheritance tax could do.  As well as cutting deep into the heart of local, family-owned farms, it will deal a huge blow to all those small businesses that depend on them: from vets to agricultural merchants to local shops and post offices. The people most immediately at risk are tenant farmers as their landlords look at ways in which inheritance tax might be avoided.

"That is without mentioning the concerning decision to cut farm budgets in real terms, which will have knock-on effects across the UK and goes against the government's stated aim of building up our food security. Labour may have inherited a legacy of farm budget mismanagement from the Tories, but it is their decision if they double down on the same mistakes.

“Liberal Democrats will fight tooth and nail to protect farms from these changes and continue to be a strong voice for rural Scotland.”