Details of the next farmers’ protest have emerged after the Treasury ‘refused to engage’ with rural lobby groups in a snub that sparked outrage.

The farming community has been at loggerheads with the Treasury over plans set out by Rachel Reeves to tax farmers at 20 per cent on assets over £1million when they die.

Asset-rich but cash-poor farmers say this will wipe out profits and lead to many farmers selling up, damaging the UK’s food security, depriving young farmers of their livelihood and inviting faceless mega corporations to buy up tracts of Britain for ‘bogus off-setting’.

The Treasury say it is a ‘fair and balanced’ way to plug the £22billion black hole and has refused to apologise to elderly farmers who say they are living in fear of dying and saddling their children with farm-threatening tax bills.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage joins farmers and their tractors at Belmont Farm in north LondonPA

Much of the debate has raged over whether the tax is about raising money or is about ideology- namely punishing a section of society Labour sees as wealthy, Range Rover driving, Tory-voting landowners.

Those who believe it is ideologically motivated have attacked the £520million a year the Treasury projects the policy to raise (about one day of NHS spending) as pitifully small and evidence of vindictiveness.

Rural groups like the Country Land and Business Association and the National Farming Union urged the Treasury to consider a ‘clawback’ mechanism that could generate a similar revenue ‘without the disastrous consequences of the government’s current inheritance tax reforms’.

Currently, death duties will kick in at the point of inheriting, not at the point of liquidation.

Farmers have said while on paper they are asset rich (thanks to high land prices and machinery costs), they are in fact cash poor, and they would only reap serious financial benefits at the point of sale.

But as farming is a way of life, many choose to farm, for which average salaries hover between £25,000 to £75,000 a year.

The CLA's modelling calculates the potential IHT bill for differing size farms, showing family farms WILL be affectedCLA

What the CLA is proposing is for death duties to kick in if a farm is inherited tax free and then sold.

The CLA and other farming industry leaders met with James Murray MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, and Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner to advocate this.

The organisations presented the clawback alternative as a way of mitigating some of the consequences and anomalies of the policy announced in the autumn Budget, but ‘the government showed no enthusiasm or appetite for compromise’ said the campaign groups.

CLA President Victoria Vyvyan said: “The Treasury was simply going through the motions and showed no interest in farming or family businesses, and the economic damage that they are inflicting.

“The CLA could not have made the facts clearer to the Treasury: this inheritance tax policy is already inflicting damage on the economy and is likely to end up hitting tax revenues.

“The Chancellor has previously asked for solutions, we have presented a compelling alternative but the government is deaf to the possibility.

“The clawback that the CLA and other stakeholders propose could limit the damage to businesses.

“It would allow rural and other family businesses to continue to make medium and long-term investment decisions, unlocking the stalled growth in business investment in the rural economy and keeping land in production.

“This plan would also target those who have bought land to shelter wealth for short-term gain, and will still deliver revenue that the Treasury needs.

“The CLA will not give up, we will carry on campaigning against the current disastrous policy, and the government has to work with us and commit to finding a solution in time for the spring statement.”

Farmer James Wright has warned that the protests 'will not stop' unless Labour announce a softening or U-turn on the inheritance tax raidPOOL / GB News

In a press conference after the meeting, Vyvyan said she feared the snub indicated Labour’s death tax might be ideologically motivated as why else would they refuse to consider measures that would raise the same amount of money.

The snub has led to another mass protest in central London being confirmed for next week, but this time will be different to previous rallies.

On March 4, farmers will gather in Richmond Place, this time without tractors that have become so synonymous with these protests.

The event is being called the ‘pancake day rally’ and aims to show MPs how much work goes into producing the ingredients of pancakes.

Farmer and NFU member Olly Harrison, one of the organisers, said: “We don’t need any tractors, this is on foot. We are going to have some kit to show to the MPs to explain the levels of investment.

“We’ve sorted all that out, you just get yourself there on foot. Let’s explain the levels of investment needed in agriculture just to produce something simple like a pancake.

“More details will follow and we’ll share them as we have them but mark 4 March in your diaries.”

Rally poster for the next farming protest

The event is gathering pace and has attracted the support of the Ulster Farmers’ Union.

UFU president William Irvine said: “The strength and resilience of our farming community will be momentous on ‘Pancake Day Rally’.

“The Government’s Treasury did their very best to put the inheritance tax matter to bed during our meeting on Tuesday by dismissing the facts that we presented on the impact the changes would have on NI and the UK as a whole.

“Everyone was left in disbelief by the outcome, but we dust ourselves off and go again. This fight is anything but over.

“In London on 4 March, we will stand stronger, taller and louder, mustering every bit of strength and power we have as a collective.

“The Labour Government will see it for themselves, no NI farmer is going to sit back and let another individual dismantle their farm. It doesn’t matter who they are. We are not rolling over.”

The Treasury has been approached for comment.

They previously told GB News: “Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast.

“This Government will invest £5 billion into farming over the next two years, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history.

"We are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce and reforming planning rules on farms to support food production.

“Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Relief will mean estates will pay a reduced effective inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than standard 40%, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free.

"This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year.”