A group of yearling Holstein heifers in a field of grass in Northern Ireland just before the sun sets.Getty Images
Concerns about how Northern Ireland farmers may be affected by the changes to inheritance tax will be raised at a one-off session of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (NIAC) today.
It comes after a meeting between Northern Ireland agricultural leaders and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Steve Reed in London on Monday.
The President of the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) William Irvine said it had been a "constructive" meeting, with an undertaking from Reed to facilitate a meeting with the Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Representatives from the farming sector say they believe a cap of £1 million on Agricultural Property Relief (APR) will have a bigger impact in Northern Ireland.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has warned that the larger number of sole ownership farms in Northern Ireland compared with elsewhere in the UK means there are particular concerns.
It has estimated that around a third of farms overall will be affected, but that 75% of dairy farms will be particularly badly hit.
The NIAC has said it may use some of Tuesday's session to explore how the figures being used by different groups have been reached and whether more specific data for Northern Ireland is needed.
Most farmers and agricultural land owners have previously been exempt from inheritance tax due to APR and Business Property Relief.
The chancellor announced in the Budget that from April 2026, 100% business and agricultural reliefs will be capped at the first £1 million in assets.
Reeves said the reforms "will ensure that we continue to protect small family farms, with three quarters of claims unaffected by these changes", while the National Farmers' Union has claimed that across the UK "75% of commercial family farms" will be above the £1 million threshold.
The announcement led to large-scale protests in London and Northern Ireland.
'Vulnerability' of Northern Irish farmers
Mr Irvine, of the UFU, will speak at the NIAC on Tuesday.
He said he would be highlighting the "vulnerability" of Northern Ireland farmers.
"The significance of agriculture within the Northern Ireland economy, the position of Northern Ireland farmers being 90-odd percent – probably 99% - owner-occupiers, and the fact that our land value is probably as high, in most cases a good bit higher, than anywhere else in the UK, all mounts up into concern for the impact of this change."
Also attending the NIAC hearing are the president of the Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster, the Secretary of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers and the Irish Farmers' Journal.
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Northern Ireland