News and Developments

For decades the Revenue’s approach when using land on which to keep horses has been that it is not agriculture, nor in many cases would it be regarded as a business for which business property relief on death would be allowed. Rather it is the nature of an operation which would fall under Section 105 (3) of the IHTA “land or buildings or making or holding investments”.

Many rural land owners were encouraged by the Government and/or their Bank to supplement their farming income through:

(a) developing that old and possibly redundant barn for holiday or longer lets and/or

(b) having to learn to manage without the farm labourer. Let out the old labourers cottage for similar purposes. Neither, of course, fall obviously within the definition of “farming” for the purposes of agricultural property relief (APR) available on death

Whether these properties do or do not it has to be remembered that taxable relief is on value for agriculture not what that property might be worth on the open market.

With mounting pressure of local planning authorities to get development moving in their area and release land, new development opportunities are being created in what is called “Garden Grabbing”. The phrase has been coined to the practice of properties with large back...

Preparing a written Partnership Agreement which defines the parties, the partnership intention and the assets to be used, can be so helpful to record the agreement and should be an essential part of any rural business planning.

Capital Gains Tax is essentially a lifetime tax payable on the increase in value of chargeable assets when they are realised. Not necessarily sold (see below) under the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (“TCGA” of just “CGT 1992”).

Since the introduction of the Finance Act 2006 as an alternative or in addition to the (a) Legal Trust Deed or (b) a Self-Invested Pension Scheme, the Family Investment Company has become a popular alternative.

Since 17th August 2015 the EU Succession Regulations affect all individuals who have assets in the EU.

This article is drafted to trace the historical background and deal with some of the issues raised. It is not exhaustive and is no replacement for bespoke legal advice.

Currently every individual has an Inheritance Tax (IHT) allowance of £325,000. In April 2017 an additional Residential Nil Rate Band (RNRB) came into effect to give an additional £175,000 per person by the 2020/21 tax year.