The Government is emphatically denying a report this evening that officials are eyeing up a humiliating climbdown over aspects of its hated tractor tax policy.
The Guardian has claimed that Treasury civil servants are now looking at ways to allow farmers aged over 80 to hand down their farms without incurring the planned tax.
The paper also reports that Rachel Reeves’s department is finally starting an impact assessment of the policy, including how it will affect small and medium-sized farms.
Specifically the report claims officials may amend gifting rules, which allow people to pass down wealth as long as it’s transferred more than seven years before death.
80-year-old farmers will likely have missed this cut-off point, meaning they are unable to arrange a pass down of their estates in time to avoid their children paying the new tractor tax.
This evening government sources are vehemently slapping down the story, with a Treasury spokesman insisting Ms Reeves remains full-square behind the policy.
They said: “We remain committed to fully implementing the policy and are not considering mitigations.”
Any such move would be seen as the first major u-turn by the government since coming to power in July, having ridden out furious reactions to other policies such as Winter Fuel Payments without bending.
However the reported carve-outs being examined by Treasury officials have already been dismissed by farming campaigners as too little, too late.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher of the Countryside Alliance told the Express: “If correct, while it’s reassuring to see the Government finally acknowledge that the family farm tax is a flawed policy, it still has to make the right calls about mitigating the impact on family farms.”
“It is vital that Ministers listen to the farming industry and reach a solution that will not see family farms bearing the brunt of this change.
“There is still a long way to go to heal Labour’s relationship with the countryside”
National Farmers’ Union president Tom Bradshaw also said the change would not go far enough, demanding the carve out include anyone over the age of 73 rather than 80.
He explained: “The average age of death in the UK is around 80, so they should bring it down to 73 to allow them to use the seven-year gifting rule.”
“If they are looking at how they create an exemption for the elderly members of the industry then the exemption should come in seven years before the average age of death.
“I would prefer an exemption before April 2026, when the rules come in, so you can make the transfer and don’t have to survive the seven years, but we have far better options on the table if they come out for consultation.
“We could come up with a policy that would answer the questions but be far better for the industry.”
This morning, Environment Secretary Steve Reed insisted he is “listening” to farmers, and he recognises the upset within rural communities.
He told the Country, Land and Business Association conference: “I’m going from this to a meeting with No 10 to discuss with them my thoughts on what we might need to do. I’m not pretending these decisions are easy.”
“I know the pain people feel. Many other people tell me how difficult this is, of course, we’ll listen to try and understand how we can make that easier to bear.”