The scale of what is being put at risk by the Government’s “family farm tax” is enormous, David Chadwick had told the House of Commons From next April, farmers will be charged 20 per cent tax on estates worth more than £1 million as part of changes to agricultural property relief. The Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP said in the Commons this week that the tax will damage an industry that is critical to Wales. Video from parliamentlive.tv
00:00David Chadwick. Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. Wales is the poorest of our four
00:08nations with the highest levels of unemployment and the lowest wages and
00:14the family farm tax is yet another example of how this government is going
00:19to hurt the Welsh economy with full knowledge of the consequences of doing
00:25so this government has decided to hit the Welsh economy agriculture being one
00:32of the major sectors in the Welsh economy and this government has decided to hit
00:36it hit Wales with an extra tax that is quite frankly unacceptable and horrific
00:43way for this government to start off family farms are the backbone of our
00:48rural economy the heart of our food system and central to the survival of
00:52many of our communities in Wales and people in Wales are shocked that this
00:59Labour government has decided to come for one of our major industries people in
01:03Wales expect the Conservatives we're accustomed to the Conservatives unpicking
01:08our major industries and taking them out but they expect better from the Labour
01:15party when family farms are being hit the damage spreads far beyond the farm gate
01:21it hurts vets suppliers haulers markets local shops and rural high streets and
01:29that's why it was so deeply disappointing that 23 of Wales is 27 Labour MPs chose to
01:37vote this policy through despite clear warnings from rural Wales and the scale of
01:43what is being put at risk is enormous. Would he give way? Yes of course. Extremely grateful to my
01:47my honourable friend for giving way his communities are not dissimilar to mine very
01:51rural very mountainous and upland farming is critical to his communities as it is to
01:56mine does he think the Labour government have perhaps failed to understand that
02:00wealth is not concentrated in the hands of farmers in the way they think is the
02:04case is entirely possible to be an upland farmer in his patch or in mine and to be
02:09earning the minimum wage or indeed less the University of Cumbria shows that the
02:13average upland farmer earns less than the average than the minimum wage and yet be in a position
02:18where after inheritance tax is due you might be paying £20,000 a year or more whilst you're
02:24earning only £16,000 that's not right is it? I thank you for his intervention and he's quite
02:30right to point to the the struggles of upland farmers who deserve to earn a living from their
02:36work because they are working people too but they're not being recognised for that agriculture and the
02:42wider food and drink sector supports over 228,000 jobs in Wales and generates more than 24 billion in
02:48turnover each year this isn't a marginal industry it's a pillar of the Welsh economy and industry bodies
02:55have warned that these tax changes will force family farms to sell lands or assets simply to
03:01meet higher liabilities accelerating consolidation and driving our young people out of rural Wales that
03:08damages our food security damages local supply chains hollows out communities and obviously undermines
03:14our tax base as well and this isn't just an economic issue it's also cultural 43% of people working in
03:21agriculture in Wales speak Welsh compared with 20% of the population overall if you undermine family
03:29farming that that that is to undermine the Welsh culture and the Welsh language in itself and
03:35what makes this policy even harder to defend is the government's selective approach ministers have refused
03:42to act on supermarket profiteering where Tesco alone have seen profits rise by over 100% and yet they're content
03:50to squeeze family farms that are already grappling with rising costs and post-Brexit uncertainty the Welsh affairs
03:58the Welsh affairs select committee Madam Deputy Speaker called for this policy to be put to be paused so that a
04:05Welsh Wales Pacific impact assessment could be carried out and it's a grave mistake that that that that
04:13that request has been ignored and this is becoming a familiar pattern for those of us from Wales there's rail underfunding a
04:22a refusal to devolve powers including over taxation and now a tax that threatens one of Wales's most
04:30important sectors time and time again Labour has advanced policies in this parliament that have hit Wales hardest and
04:37waved them through regardless the Welsh Liberal Democrats oppose this tax because we believe that family farms should
04:45should form the spine of a prosperous rural economy rural Wales into in fact that the rural economy across the whole of the UK
04:54deserves a plan for growth not punishment driven by ideology and the Welsh government deserves a government that understands the value
05:04the strength and the work that our agricultural sector provides to rural Wales
05:11I'm thinking of the tens of young farming clubs in my constituency these are run by incredible young people who form community groups and build confidence of the young people in their communities as well as running their family businesses and it's those young people that we need to stay in Wales and the
05:34run their businesses as well and create the jobs and employment that will enable rural Wales to prosper but instead they're being told by this government no it's fine we're going to hit you with an extra tax this this is something that's going to fall on the shoulders of Welsh young farmers
05:53the Welsh economy deserves a government that understands Wales and that's not what we're getting so far
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