*Protests in Germany staged against extreme right tendencies
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00:00In the UK, the decision made last year by the current Labour government of reinstituting
00:05an inheritance tax on some farms has stirred protest in London.
00:10The Labour government said the measure would go into effect in April 2026 to provide vital
00:16new revenue.
00:18Back in December, hundreds of farmers drove their tractors to London for an unprecedented
00:22protest outside Downing Street.
00:24They claimed that coupled with existing economic headwinds, the new tax would likely ruin their
00:29family business for when adding the value of a farmhouse, livestock and equipment, they'd
00:34likely surpass the exemption threshold capped at £1 million.
00:39Beyond that threshold, they'll have to pay a 20% tax, still half the normal rate though.
00:47But given the low margins in the business, many will have to sell some of their land
00:51to meet the tax requirement.
00:56We have an organic dairy farm in North Devon.
00:58We have 400 cows selling milk to Muller, distributed throughout the UK to various supermarkets,
01:05Sainsbury's, M&S, Waitrose, etc, etc.
01:09We breed all our own replacement animals, so we don't buy in cows, we try to keep our
01:14own bloodline.
01:16And we grow all our food for all cows on farm, so we're self-sufficient, part of the organic
01:23element of that.
01:24So I'm not against an inheritance tax personally.
01:28It needs to be targeted correctly, and my view would be that the government needs to
01:35review it and target it more specifically to those that they say they were targeted
01:41at, the very big landowners who use their money to find a tax haven.
01:49We pay taxes, we pay VAT, we pay income tax, we pay corporation tax, but it's just too
01:54much for us to make, not a massive margin, it doesn't work.
02:01So right now that's the biggest challenge, and that's why we're taking our tractors to
02:05London and we want to have a conversation with our government, and they don't seem to
02:09want to have much of a conversation with us.
02:14In Germany, over 15,000 people demonstrated against the extreme right, citizens have taken
02:20to the streets in several cities in rejection of the far-right party Alternative for Germany
02:24and other right-wing populist tendencies globally.
02:28Socialists rallies had the support of numerous clubs, parties, trade unions and organized
02:32civil society initiatives.
02:34Demonstrators seek to send a signal in favor of a social democratic Germany to confront
02:38the violence and hatred prevailing in Western societies.