Roberta Armstrong, a retired agricultural bank manager and farm owner from Kilrea in County Londonderry, admitted the government U-turn was very unexpected but certainly incredibly welcome.
Ms Armstrong said her husband passed away aged 58 from cancer in 2021, having spent his entire working life growing a dairy farm that he could leave to his loved ones.
Following her husband’s passing, Ms Armstrong said she was incredibly worried about how the proposed changes to inheritance tax would impact their family.
Ms Armstrong described the government’s new plans a huge relief for her family and for many other farming families across Northern Ireland.
“We were not expecting this news this side of Christmas. It was certainly something we were hoping for, but it came completely out of the blue,” she told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme on Wednesday.
“Now, as a family, this news takes us out of that inheritance tax liability, and we do fall within the £5m allowance, which is a huge weight off our shoulders.
“There are many ongoing concerns and worries within farming, and this is one that we didn’t need. Thankfully, it has now been removed for us.”