The “heartbreaking” plight of farmers turning to suicide or wanting to die before the introduction of a proposed farm inheritance tax has been raised in Gwynedd.

Cllr Jina Gwyrfai said in full council on 3 July that farmers were in “despair” and families, workers and businesses “facing collapse” over proposed Westminster legislation, scheduled for April, 2026.

The councillor said the proposed act was “a direct threat,” to the livelihoods of generations of farming families in Gwynedd, and the rural economy.

In October, it was announced that inherited agricultural properties worth more than £1m would be subject to inheritance tax at 20 per cent from April, 2026.

The government said this would only affect the wealthiest 500 farms, but farming groups and Plaid Cymru argue a greater impact.

Cllr Gwyrfai said over three quarters of Wales’ working farms were likely to be above the £1m threshold, and many farmers were feeling “hopeless”. She read a statement from one who inherited a family farm with value in its equipment but “no money in the bank”.

“This tax is...causing some older farmers to wish to die before April, 2026 in order to avoid the tax and retain the farm for the next generation.

“One farmer in Barnsley has taken his own life because of tax worries and a farmer in Glamorgan with cancer has refused treatment so he will die before 2026.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said.

“The stability of the family farm is a vital and invaluable contribution to the preservation of the Welsh language in our Welsh-speaking communities.

“The agricultural industry in Wales is currently able to make a valuable contribution to the food stock of the ‘United Kingdom’ in an age of increasing uncertainty, although the stock is low.

Her motion said “the Inheritance Tax Act poses a threat to the traditional farming unit, to the economy of the country and to the Welsh countryside, especially to Welsh-speaking areas”, adding: “At least two farmers are known to have committed suicide since the announcement of the act and families and related local workers and businesses face collapse if it comes into effect.

“I therefore call on Cyngor Gwynedd to bring pressure to bear on Welsh Government to pressurise Westminster Government to recognise the farming industry is crucial to the UK’s security strategy, and to exclude family farms that produce food from the new tax when it comes into force.”

It also called for the council to appeal to Welsh Government to commission research to assess the impact of the act on the Welsh economy and Welsh-speaking communities, to implement “adequate mitigation measures,” and protect the agricultural industry “crucial to the future of our country’s rural communities”.

Cllr Delyth Lloyd Griffiths, who owns a farm, seconded the motion, calling on UK government to “pause the plans immediately” and for the Senedd to undertake an assessment over the “real effect”.

Cllr John Pughe Roberts said “this is a huge concern for many residents’ farms, the Welsh language and culture”.

The motion vote saw 44 in favour, and one abstention.