It’s not uncommon for farmers in the United States to think that the government is trying to put them out of business.

It turns out, that’s a universal feeling among farmers around the world. Take the example of farmers in the United Kingdom.

It’s never been easy being a farmer in the UK. They operate under a regulatory scheme that would make an EPA bureaucrat blush.

Things have become more difficult since the UK left the European Union.

Prior to the split, farmers in Britain received £2.4 billion, or $3 billion, in crop subsidy payments. Although the government committed to maintaining the same level of spending, the money is now tied to an “environmental land management scheme.”

The government pays farmers for producing “public goods,” such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity programs, soil conservation, maintaining scenic landscapes, and the maintenance of iconic dry stone walls. The more projects a farm can afford to undertake, the more subsidy money it can receive.

At the same time, farmers in the UK are being impacted by the same increases in the prices of fuel, seed, feed and other inputs as farmers in the United States. Money is tight.

And now, family farmers are protesting the latest budget by the Labor government that will subject farm assets to an inheritance tax, which UK farm groups say will push many family farms out of business.

Farmers in the UK have been exempt from paying the 40% duty for more than a generation. But in April 2026, the government will extend the duty to farm assets, albeit at a reduced rate.

Under the law, farm assets over £1 million will be subject to a 20% duty, which will be payable over 10 years.

According to the British government, the average farm in the UK is worth £2.3 million. After the exemption is applied, the death duty bill would be £260,000, or $327,000.

The ruling Labor Party says the new inheritance tax will impact only “wealthy landowners.” Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, the British finance minister responsible for budgets, says 73% of farmers in the UK won’t be subject to the tax.

The National Farmers Union claims 75% of all farms will eventually be subject to the duty and would cut a farm’s profit by more than half. It says the tax will crush farming operations in the UK that are already struggling.

It says the tax was proposed without consulting those impacted.

There are succession planning strategies that would pass assets to heirs prior to death, thus avoiding the tax. But these strategies are expensive to initiate, and must be completed seven years prior to the owner’s death to avoid the tax.

Farmers in the U.S. are no strangers to fights over oppressive taxes. It was opposition to British taxes, levied without representation, that sparked the Revolution.

It’s ironic that farmers in the UK are standing up to His Majesty’s government over the same principle.