Insight 42 - Magazine - Page 24
Business Property Relief
T
he recent UK Budget introduced
significant changes to Business
Property Relief (BPR) and
Agricultural Property Relief (APR) from
Inheritance Tax. Starting April 6, 2026, the
full 100% relief will be limited to the first
£1 million of combined agricultural and
business property.
For property values exceeding this
threshold, the relief rate will decrease to
50%. Additionally, shares listed on markets
not recognised as official stock exchanges,
such as the Alternative Investment Market
(AIM), will only qualify for 50% relief,
regardless of their value.
These reforms aim to better target the
reliefs and ensure that the majority
of estates remain unaffected. The
government estimates that nearly threequarters of estates claiming APR and the
majority of those claiming BPR in 2026–27
will not be impacted by these changes.
However, these adjustments have sparked
concern among farmers and business
owners. Critics argue that the £1 million
cap may not be sufficient for many family-
24
"The government has
announced plans to
publish a technical
consultation in early
2025 to address the
detailed application of
these reforms"
owned farms and businesses, potentially
leading to increased tax liabilities and
financial strain.
The government has announced plans to
publish a technical consultation in early
2025 to address the detailed application
of these reforms, particularly concerning
lifetime transfers into trusts and charges
on trust property.
What is clear from this news is who is
supporting the Farmers as the National
Farmers Union is out there fully promoting
their concerns.
bIZ4BIZ INSIGHT MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2024
What is not very clear is who is supporting
businesses as the CBI and the Chamber
of Commerce alongside the Federation of
Small Business all appear very quiet on
the subject.
You can rest assured that biz4Biz who
have already raised concerns about
business asset transfers to encourage the
development and growth of medium sized
companies is also very confused by the
disappearance of BPR. Perhaps, however
this change might deliver the funding
requested to ensure asset transfer and the
amalgamations that could be created as a
result.
As with the Farmers protests there is so
much to be said for encouraging the next
generation to maintain a farm or other
business, created by previous generations
and the tax for a government to spend
is one aspect but we truly feel more
businesses will be destroyed as a result.
INVEST - INVEST - INVEST is one great
idea but not at the cost of DESTROY DESTROY - DESTROY existing established
organisations.
