Marks & Spencer has urged ministers to reconsider plans to scale back inheritance tax relief for family farms, warning the move could destabilise rural communities.
Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on estates above £325,000, but agricultural and business property reliefs have long helped farmers pass holdings on to the next generation without being forced to sell land or livestock.
However, reforms by Labour would reduce those exemptions, triggering fears that family farms could face crippling bills on succession.
Alex Freudmann, managing director of M&S Food, told The Times: “We support our farmers’ calls on the government to do more to support farming, and that includes supporting their call for a rethink on inheritance tax.”
The retailer has previously backed National Farmers’ Union pleas to extend consultation on the reforms.
Mr Freudmann also wrote to ministers earlier this summer calling for a legally binding target to boost domestic food production, warning of doubts over the UK’s commitment to homegrown supply.
The intervention comes as Emma Reynolds takes over as environment secretary, with the government insisting most estates will remain exempt and that those affected will be able to spread payments over ten years, interest-free.
A spokesman for the UK Government said: “Our reforms to agricultural and business property relief are vital to fix the public services we all rely on. Three-quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most people pay, and payments can be spread over ten years, interest-free.”