Tesco, Lidl and Aldi join other major supermarkets in backing farmers and calling on government to ‘pause’ its ‘Family Farm Tax’
Tesco, Lidl and Aldi have become the latest UK supermarkets to back British farmers and call for a consultation over changes to farm inheritance tax.
In a statement released today (22 January), Lidl GB said it was concerned that the recent changes to farm inheritance tax would hold back investment needed to build a resilient, productive and sustainable British food system.
“We, therefore, support the call by the farming community to pause the implementation of those changes and to consult with industry to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. We will be raising our concerns with Government at any opportunity we get,” the statement said.
Lidl highlighted its commitment to the British agriculture sector, revealing that it will have invested a total of £21bn in the British food industry by the end of the financial year – including £70m into British root veg suppliers.
”At Lidl GB, we are incredibly proud of the strong and long-term relationships we’ve built with British producers over the last 30 years,” the retailer said. ”We remain committed to supporting British farmers now more than ever.”
Meanwhile, Tesco’s chief commercial officer Ashwin Prasad added his supermarket’s voice to those calling on the government to pause ‘family farm tax’.
He said that he “fully understood” farmers’ fears about inheritance tax changes. “It’s why we’ll be supporting the NFU’s calls for a pause in the implementation of the policy, while a full consultation is carried out.”
Aldi today also confirmed that it had signed a letter by the NFU calling for a halt to changes.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “British farmers and suppliers are the lifeblood of our business. We all need a farming sector that can confidently invest in its future and continue to produce high-quality British food. That’s why we are supporting the farming community’s calls for the Government to pause the implementation of its proposed changes to inheritance tax until a further period of consultation has taken place.”
Aldi, Tesco and Lidl join other major supermarket chains Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons in publicly offering their support to farmers following changes to farm inheritance tax announced in last October’s budget.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced farmers will pay a 20 per cent rate of inheritance tax on land and property they inherit worth more than £1 million.
The government has insisted that their actions – dubbed the family farm tax – will only affect the wealthiest farmers.
But the NFU and other agriculture organisations say the impact of Reeves’ measures will be much more widespread.
