A Suffolk MP has said that government changes to agricultural inheritance tax are being done to "release rural land for developers" as a farmers' union chief warns the changes are causing "panic and anxiety".

Patrick Spencer, MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, said the changes to agricultural property relief (APR), announced in the autumn Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, were being done to enable more homes to be built.

Mrs Reeves' plans were part of a raft of measures introduced in the Budget to plug what she had previously described as a "black hole" in the public finances - something the Conservatives have denied.

Mr Spencer said: "Now what I know deep down is that the decision to reform APR and increase the inheritance tax liability for small farms is fundamentally about releasing land in rural areas so that developers can build more houses on it.

READ MORE: Suffolk farmers fear cuts to agriculture in Autumn Budget

"There is no justification for it whatsoever from an economic point of view. There is no way you're going to raise enough money that's really going to support public services, as various members have said.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the changes last monthChancellor Rachel Reeves announced the changes last month (Image: Ben Whitley)

"The only viable reason I understand that this government has introduced APR on small farm holdings is because they want to release land for development."

Under the government's plans, after 2026, the 100% inheritance tax relief which has been historically applied to farms will only relate to the first £1million.

READ MORE: Budget 'a disaster' for farmers, says Suffolk NFU chief

Glenn Buckingham, chair of the National Farmers' Union Suffolk branch, said the inheritance tax changes were causing panic and anxietyGlenn Buckingham, chair of the National Farmers' Union Suffolk branch, said the inheritance tax changes were causing panic and anxiety (Image: Julian Cooksley) After that, the rate will be 50% - leaving many farmers with a big inheritance tax bill to pay and - many fear - putting succession in peril.

Glenn Buckingham, chair of the Suffolk branch of the National Farmers' Union, shared many of Mr Spencer's concerns and said many farms covered 350 acres and were worth £5m once all assets had been factored in.

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He warned of "unintended consequences" from the changes and said land could be lost to food production, which would affect the nation's food security.

He said: "It is effectively a tax. It is the family farm tax and it will put people off having a farming career and people may well have to sell land to pay the tax."

He added he had met farmers who might have assets, but did not have any tax planning in place.

"It has caused panic and anxiety," Mr Buckingham said.