Tesco, Aldi and Lidl have backed UK farmers in their dispute with the government over tax changes in the Budget.
Ashwin Prasad, Tesco’s chief commercial officer, said the UK’s “future food security is at stake” and the government should suspend the introduction of inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million sterling.
Tesco is Britain’s largest supermarket and, together with Lidl and Aldi, they account for around 45% of the UK food market. Their warnings on Wednesday will therefore increase pressure on the government.
Asda and Morrisons have already expressed their support for farmers in the dispute and Sainsbury’s has also called on the government to listen to their concerns.
The BBC has contacted the Treasury for comment.
“We will support calls from the NFU (National Farmers Union) for a pause in the implementation of this policy while a thorough consultation is carried out,” Mr Prasad said.
Adding: “After years of policy change, it has been harder than ever for them to plan ahead or invest in their farms. »
It comes as the government’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, suggested farmers were likely to cut back on investments due to the tax raid.
The OBR published new analysis which found that while its estimate that the introduction of the tax would raise £500m a year by 2029 was unchanged, it said this estimate was highly uncertain and that older farmers might find it difficult to reorganize their affairs to minimize new costs.
It also says farmers could seek to limit their taxes by “potentially reducing the value of their estates”.
Aldi also supported calls for a pause. He said: “We all need an agricultural sector that can confidently invest in its future and continue to produce high-quality British food.”
“That’s why we support calls from the farming community for the Government to pause implementation of the proposed inheritance tax changes until a further consultation period has taken place.”
A Lidl spokesperson said the supermarket giant “is concerned that recent changes to the Inheritance Duty (IHT) regime will impact on the confidence of farmers and producers and hamper investment needed to building a resilient, productive and sustainable UK food system.”
The German supermarket requested an in-depth consultation. He said: “We will raise our concerns with the government every chance we get.”
Last October, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that farms worth more than £1 million would be required to pay 20% inheritance tax from April 2026.
Previously, farms and agricultural businesses were exempt from death tax.
In December, demonstrators drove tractors into Westminster to protest.
At the time, NFU president Tom Bradshaw told MPs farmers were ready to work with the Government, adding there were “lots of ways” to make the policy “less bad”.
However, Sir Keir Starmer insisted the “vast majority” of farmers would not be affected by the tax changes.
