UFU: Inheritance tax threshold 'still not good enough'
Following yesterday’s [Wednesday, November 26) Autumn Budget announcement in the UK, including the change to inheritance tax allowing the £1 million Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) threshold to be transferable between spouses, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has said that Northern Ireland will still be hit hardest due to its owner-occupied farming structure and land prices.
The change will bring APR and BPR into line with existing inheritance tax legislation, and the UFU said it will not prevent "lasting damage" to many family farms across Northern Ireland.
As part of the UK budget on October 30, 2024, the previous year's budget, it had been initially announced that APR and BPR combined at 100% would be restricted to £1 million from April 6, 2026, a move that was met with widespread criticism and protests by farmers over the past year.
UFU president William Irvine said: “[The] Autumn Budget announcement puts UK agriculture in a better position than it was in..., but by no means is it a fitting solution, especially not for Northern Ireland.
"This transferable threshold is the smallest change that government could have made. We lobbied for this transferable threshold as one of a package of measures, but this change on its own is quite frankly, not nearly good enough.
“We repeatedly highlighted over the past year when engaging relentlessly with political figures locally and nationally, that because of NI’s unique owner-occupied farming structure and land prices, farmers here are disproportionately exposed to IHT changes," he added.
Irvine explained that this has not changed, even with the transferable threshold introduced.
He continued: “Government has belittled and dismissed our efforts and concerns by making only one slight change to its decision at last year’s budget, one that should have been there to begin with.
"It does not have any significant benefit for Northern Ireland and with no further protections for family farms, local farmers will be the ones to bear the brunt of government’s unjust decisions.
“Amendments to the Finance Bill is the final opportunity for proper and suitable changes to be made on the inheritance tax proposals and we are urging the Labour government to see sense and do what is right, not only for local farm families but for the UK population.
"What happens to local farms, the businesses that produce the high-quality food we all need to survive, affects us all in more way than one and we are now much too close to the wire."
The UFU has called on the UK Government to amend the Finance Bill urgently to prevent irreversible damage to the family farm model.
The UFU will host a post-budget information webinar for members on Tuesday, December 2, 7:30-9:00p.m.
