Iceland boss Richard Walker has stood behind farmers following the government’s proposed inheritance tax changes, claiming the Treasury “has parked its tractor in the wrong place”.
The supermarket’s managing director criticised Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to reduce the relief entrepreneurs can claim when passing their company on to their children with any assets above £1m subject to a 20% tax.
Walker told The Telegraph: “The Treasury is right to look at levelling the playing field on tax, but it has parked its tractor in the wrong place going after hard-working British farmers.
“Let’s stop messing around and make online sales tax reform the priority. High streets and farmers are the bedrock of this great country, we need to get behind them.”
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Walker’s comments come after growing pressure for the Iceland boss to speak out in support of the country’s farmers and marks a step change after supporting Reeves multiple times in recent months.
He told The Telegraph last summer: “She’s a grown-up. She knows she can’t just mete out punishment on big business. She knows she’s reliant on them for the growth agenda.”
Walker’s comments come after rivals Asda, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose signalled opposition for inheritance tax changes and their impact on UK farmers.
Tesco’s chief commercial officer Ashwin Prasad said earlier this month that the planned raid on farmers would put Britain’s food security at risk.
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