Hundreds of people attend Farmer’s Voice meeting about tax

Despite the meeting only being arranged within days beforehand, the interest in this subject continues to grow, judging by the turnout of farmers and family members at the meeting.

Despite the cold night, an estimated 300 people attended, with more than 500 people watching the event online through the mart’s digital live streaming platform, MartEye.

Everyone was offered a welcome hot tea or coffee on arrival before settling into the tiered gallery seating of the mart’s heifer sale ring.

An expert panel of speakers, all from Fermanagh, included David Brown, the immediate former President of the Ulster Farmers’ Union; Aoife Ferris, a vet with Lakeland Veterinary Services and a farmer; James Cooper, solicitor; Cormac McKervey, Head of Agriculture with Ulster Bank; and Seamus McCaffrey, an accountant specialising in farm tax.

Other speakers included Baroness Arlene Foster; the new Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP, Pat Cullen from Sinn Féin; Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLAs, Diana Armstrong, Ulster Unionist Party and Deborah Erskine, Democratic Unionist Party; Councillors Sheamus Greene, Sinn Féin and Eddie Roofe, Alliance Party; and butcher and farmer, Andrew Burleigh.

Chairing the discussions was Elaine Mitchell, BBC broadcaster, who presented Farmgate on BBC Radio Ulster, and who also has Fermanagh links.

Despite such a wide range of speakers from different backgrounds and political thinking, there was complete unity over their opposition to the United Kingdom Government’s proposed changes to Inheritance Tax affecting farmers.

This unity was first referred to by solicitor James Cooper, saying they all rejected this move by the Labour Party.

He said ordinary farmers had been caught in the slipstream in a move designed against wealthy English businessmen who have been investing in farms.

However, now Northern Ireland farmers – the backbone of the economy in the province – have been targeted too.

He explained that if a farmer left their property valued at more than £1million – a new threshold – their successors will be subject to inheritance tax.

Mr. Cooper said farm families will now have to carefully look at their affairs in more detail and a considerable amount of legal changes would need to take place.

This will involve farmer’s wives or husbands and their family members.

He advised against making any sudden moves on this, as a lot of detail still has to be revealed and legislation will take many months.

Mr. Cooper looked at several scenarios trying to avoid paying the tax, such as transferring the assets under the seven-year rule, provided the farmer lives for the seven years.

He said tax law was incredibly complicated, and he advised farmers to keep in touch with their accountant and solicitor.

Cormac McKervey said DAERA figures had already estimated that 35 per cent of Northern Ireland farms, and 75 per cent of dairy farms, would be affected by these changes due to take effect from April, 2026.

The typical income from the capital value of the asset was only around one to two per cent a year.

For farmers to find the money to pay the tax, he said they will ask themselves if they should stop investing and save the money, thereby starving the farm of investment; perhaps borrow the money to pay the tax; or sell some land to pay the tax bill.

However, he said farm returns just did not generate enough to pay a tax bill.

Seamus McCaffrey, accountant, said while this move has been introduced unexpectedly, no-one should make any knee-jerk reactions.

Apart from the financial penalties, there was also a psychological impact on the farming community.

“There is no one solution at present,” he said, acknowledging there is more detail to be released.

Mr. McCaffrey said there will have to be discussions involving all members of the family when considering transferring assets, so that they are all comfortable with the outcome, and said it would be wrong for a farm family to embark on transfers where there was some doubt.

Aoife Ferris said this change would affect her generation. As she visits farms, she might be the only person that a farmer will see that day.

She also noted that the appeal for younger farmers going into farming reduces each year, with TB and other emerging diseases affecting the industry, the high cost of land or shortage of fodder. She said it would be detrimental to tax farmers for building up the farm for generations.

When she was asked by Chair Elaine Mitchell if she would have entered farming and a farm-related job knowing what it all entails, she said she would still get involved with the same enthusiasm.

David Brown referred to NFU Mutual’s assessment that fewer than 50 per cent of farmers had made a will.

He went on to say that the DEFRA Secretary, Steve Reed, told the NFU Mutual annual conference earlier in the year that Labour would not touch APR.

“They [the Labour government] are completely out of touch and we are totally opposed to what has been brought onto our farm families, and we will keep pressing them on this,” Mr. Mr. Brown told the audience, to applause.

The other reality, he said, was that farmers are dependent on farm subsidies for their income – 87 per cent of farm incomes was from the Single Farm Payment.

Mr. Brown said there was the psychological impact of paying Inheritance Tax, but how many farmers could afford it?

Other speakers included butcher and farmer, Andrew Burleigh, who said it will not be possible in the future to supply cheap food, and the public will have to understand that.

Mr. Burleigh said that despite all the challenges and hardships in farming, a simple thing such as getting up in the middle of the night and seeing a successful calving gives him a great lift.

Pat Cullen said Sinn Féin MPs have engaged with the Secretary of State, and she congratulated the UFU on their stance, and they needed to keep the public behind them as there was a narrative that farmers were receiving big subsidies.

There needed to be sustained pressure on the government, she added.

Eddie Roofe, an Alliance councillor, said there was an image problem with millions of consumers who have never seen a cow, and who might not have any sympathy with farmers.

He defended the DAERA Minister, Andrew Muir, against criticism by local contractor, Barry Read.

Sean Montgomery, from Farmers For Action (FFA), highlighted their attendance at the London protest rally and said this was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of challenging the proposal.

His colleague, William Taylor from FFA, congratulated The Impartial Reporter and Farmer’s Voice for organising the meeting, and said they would continue to press for a change.

A discussion then took place between other members of the panel; Andrew Burleigh saying supermarkets were selling food too cheaply, and Baroness Foster, who said there was little understanding at the heart of government over what farmers did.

She said she was looking forward to the debate in a few weeks in the House of Lords, and also said it was important to keep the debate highlighted through media outlets, and to have a sustained momentum.

DUP MLA Deborah Erskine said her party’s MPs would be telling Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves: “Hands off our farmers.”

Some of those attending then had their say. John Stewart said if this had been in France, the government would not be allowed to take farmers’ land, and farmers would be more militant.

Robert Sheridan noted what the British Agriculture Bureau office – representing the United Kingdom farm unions in Brussels – had found: that many other European countries supported farmers when it came to farm succession.

UUP MLA Diana Armstrong described the industry as ‘generational farming’, with most of those gathered either second- or third-generation farmers.

SF Councillor Sheamus Greene agreed on the generational nature of farming, and said the tax change was no mistake by the Labour Government, saying he saw it as a land grab with the Government’s agenda on climate change targets.

Brian Graham, a third-generation farmer, described the tax move as a disgrace, as it did not encourage young people to go into farming.

Another farmer in the audience, David Mulligan, said the £330million earmarked for farm support in Northern Ireland was not even enough, as it did not take into account inflation over the years.

The debate over the Inheritance Tax rules continues with the Fermanagh County Committee of the UFU hosting a meeting on Monday next, December 2 in the Killyhevlin Hotel at 8pm.

Entitled, ‘Protecting your farm post-Budget – the facts’, the meeting will include presentations from Nick Rowsome, NFU Mutual; Seamus McCaffrey, accountant, on the tax implications and a solicitor on legal implications.