Two motions relating to the controversial policy are on the agenda for Worcestershire County Council’s first full council meeting of the year on Thursday, January 9.
Conservative councillors said they are “deeply concerned” by the Labour government’s plan to end inheritance tax exemptions for farms worth more than £1 million.
And Green councillors are calling for the threshold to be raised to £5m.
Tory councillors Adam Kent, Kit Taylor, Elizabeth Eyre, Brandon Clayton, Chris Rogers and Adrian Kriss, in their motion, said: “These changes represent a direct threat to the livelihoods of farming families who have, for generations, been at the heart of Worcestershire’s rural economy and community.
“By increasing the tax burden on death for these family-owned farms, these changes risk undermining the future viability of agricultural businesses that are essential to our food security, local employment, and stewardship of our countryside.
“Family farms operate on thin margins, often relying on the continuity of generational ownership to remain sustainable. Inheritance tax hikes could force many to sell land or equipment just to meet tax liabilities, weakening our local agricultural base and threatening the character of Worcestershire’s rural landscape.
“This council stands firmly with Worcestershire’s farming community, committed to safeguarding its future from policies that would undermine its long-term sustainability and our county’s agricultural heritage.”
The motion calls for Defra minister Steve Reed to reconsider any policies that place “undue financial strain on family farms”.
READ MORE: M50 and M42 motorway banners hit out at ‘family farm tax’
READ MORE: Farmers take to Worcester’s streets in tractors to protest
READ MORE: I sat aboard a tractor for Worcester’s farmers’ protest
A second motion, in the names of Green councillors Martin Allen, Matt Jenkins, Malcolm Victory and Andrew Cross, says: “Too many farms will be lost, generations of love, care and hard work will be destroyed with this unjust level of taxation.
“This council calls upon the government to revisit their decision and adjust the threshold upwards, so that those farms of less [than] five million pounds are excluded from this disastrous blunder.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defended the policy last month, saying the majority of farms would not be affected and that the revenue raised would be needed to fund public services.
Appearing in front of the liaison committee of senior MPs, he added: “What we tried to do with the regime we put in place was to protect the family farm, putting in a high threshold for inheritance tax for farms, which means that if you take the figures on the estates for farms, the vast majority of them are unaffected by the changes we put in place.”