Rural Labour MPs have expressed concerns with the government’s plan to tax inherited farmland during an initial vote on the proposals.Dozens of the party’s backbenchers are believed to have abstained during a vote on Tuesday to authorise the plans, which are due to take effect in April.Markus Campbell-Savours, the Labour MP for Penrith and Solway, voted against the government – saying many family farms would be “devastated” by the move.Treasury minister James Murray insisted that taxing farm estates was a fair way to raise money to fund public services.Labour wants to start charging tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, reversing a tax relief that has existed in its modern form since the 1980s.Above this threshold, inherited farmland would be taxed at 20%, half the standard inheritance tax rate, in a move initially estimated to raise £520m annually by 2029.The plans, first announced at last year’s Budget, led to protests around the UK from farmers who argue they will lead to the break-up of family farms.But ministers avoided a legislative skirmish over the proposals last year, as they were not included in the law to rubber-stamp the 2024 Budget.However, MPs were given an initial vote on the proposals on Tuesday evening, before a full vote on legislation to deliver this year’s Budget in the coming months.The Commons approved the move by 327 votes to 182 – but 84 Labour MPs did not take part, a higher number than for similar Budget votes.One MP in the Labour Rural Research Group, an internal pressure group for the party’s countryside MPs, told the BBC they believed aro …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnRural Labour MPs have expressed concerns with the government’s plan to tax inherited farmland during an initial vote on the proposals.Dozens of the party’s backbenchers are believed to have abstained during a vote on Tuesday to authorise the plans, which are due to take effect in April.Markus Campbell-Savours, the Labour MP for Penrith and Solway, voted against the government – saying many family farms would be “devastated” by the move.Treasury minister James Murray insisted that taxing farm estates was a fair way to raise money to fund public services.Labour wants to start charging tax on inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, reversing a tax relief that has existed in its modern form since the 1980s.Above this threshold, inherited farmland would be taxed at 20%, half the standard inheritance tax rate, in a move initially estimated to raise £520m annually by 2029.The plans, first announced at last year’s Budget, led to protests around the UK from farmers who argue they will lead to the break-up of family farms.But ministers avoided a legislative skirmish over the proposals last year, as they were not included in the law to rubber-stamp the 2024 Budget.However, MPs were given an initial vote on the proposals on Tuesday evening, before a full vote on legislation to deliver this year’s Budget in the coming months.The Commons approved the move by 327 votes to 182 – but 84 Labour MPs did not take part, a higher number than for similar Budget votes.One MP in the Labour Rural Research Group, an internal pressure group for the party’s countryside MPs, told the BBC they believed aro …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
