Horse tax to be mentioned in Queen’s speech
Plans for a “horse tax” were due to be mentioned in the Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament today.
The government aims to publish a draft Animal Health Bill in January, outlining its plans for a new independent body for animal health in England.
The new body would be responsible for animal health but not welfare and a levy would be raised on each farm animal, and possibly horse, in the UK to help fund it.
There is a strong lobby against the plan from the horse industry which has launched a petition calling on the government to Rethink the Horse Tax.
British Horseracing Authority (BHA) veterinary expert and chairman of the British Horse Industry Confederation Professor Tim Morris has said: “The proposals are based on inaccurate data and flawed assumptions and represent an increase in costs for the equine sector where a significant proportion already fund their leisure activities out of taxed income.”
Defra’s plans will be open to consultation from the farming and equine industries before becoming law.
To sign the petition against horse tax go to www.rethinkthehorsetax.org
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.