Responding to the Labour UK Government’s Autumn Budget, Montgomeryshire MS, said:
“This is a very disappointing budget that will negatively impact people across Montgomeryshire. We already knew that the new UK Labour Government plans on keeping many pensioners cold this winter.
The National Insurance rise will be an incredibly destructive jobs tax for small and medium-sized businesses across mid Wales. In the run-up to the election, Labour promised they would not raise taxes on working people, yet they have imposed a £25 billion tax increase by raising National Insurance – which raises the tax burden to the highest level in our country’s history. They have also increased borrowing by billions of pounds.
"The Welsh Labour Government has not stood up for farmers and rural Wales, and now we have seen the UK Labour Government introduce a new tax on farmers. While there was speculation that the new Government might introduce this tax, it is difficult to believe they have gone through with it. This new tax on the family farm will not only cause lasting damage to Welsh farming and lead to the break-up of family farms, but it will also leave farmers without the means, confidence, or incentive to invest in the future of their businesses. This does not encourage or support our farmers to produce Welsh food. In fact, Labour’s changes to inheritance tax rules risk marking the end of the agricultural industry as we know it.”