Council seeking to force inheritance tax rethink by building robust case for local farmers

Over 80 per cent of the Cotswold Area of Natural Beauty is agricultural land, and farming also accounts for four per cent of employment in the district, significantly higher than the 1.4 per cent it accounts for nationally.

With farming so critical to the area, a team of councillors has been tasked with comprehensively setting out how and why changes to Agricultural Property Relief – a form of inheritance tax – will be so damaging to farmers living and working in the Cotswolds district.

During last year’s Autumn Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that from April 6, 2026, the full 100 per cent relief from inheritance tax will be restricted to the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Above this amount, landowners will access 50 per cent relief from inheritance tax and will pay inheritance tax at a reduced effective rate up to 20 per cent, rather than the standard 40 per cent.

The move has sparked serious concern and anger among the farming community across the UK, with several protests having taken place since the announcement in November.

During debate at a full Cotswold District Council meeting on Wednesday, March 19, members from all political parties – including those who work as farmers in the district, and others with close ties to the sector – spoke with passion and emotion about the potential consequences of these reforms.

Cllr Joe Harris, Leader of Cotswold District Council, said: “There are few places in this country where the contribution of farmers is more prevalent than in the Cotswolds.

“Almost all of the land in the Cotswold National Landscape is agricultural, while a far greater proportion of people living and working in the Cotswolds depend on farming for employment, compared with the numbers nationally.

“For centuries, farmers here have played a vital role in and for their communities, all while feeding the nation. These reforms to inheritance tax on agricultural property threaten the very existence of small and medium farms, making it harder for the next generation to continue the work of their parents and grandparents.

“Given the importance of farming to the area, we are going to build the very strongest case for the government to rethink its approach. I look forward to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee reporting back to council with a recommendation on how we do that, so that we can robustly back the farming community in our district.”

The commitment to undertake this work was made following a motion to council, which sought to send a clear message to government that these reforms have the potential to be so damaging to farmers living and working in the district.