Institute urges rethink on IHT reliefs ahead of UK Budget: Northern Ireland impact remains a key concern

Last week, the Institute’s Northern Ireland Tax Committee wrote to the new Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Dan Tomlinson MP, to highlight a range of tax policy and tax administration recommendations and concerns ahead of the Budget on Wednesday 26 November. In our Pre-Budget submission, the Institute continues to press the Government to reframe the draft legislation on agricultural property relief and business property relief given the disproportionate impact the proposed changes will have on family owned farms and businesses in Northern Ireland (NI). The Institute’s UK Tax Manager, Leontia Doran, is scheduled to deliver oral evidence on this issue today to the House of Lords Finance Bill Sub-Committee as part of its inquiry into the draft Finance Bill 2025/26 clauses.

In our submission, we continue to implore Government that it is not too late to reframe this policy ahead of April 2026. However, if the Government is not willing to do so, we continue to recommend that a specific carve out from the rules is included in the final legislation to protect NI.

Given how deeply connected agricultural is throughout the island of Ireland, the unique circumstances of NI farmers cannot be ignored and must be addressed. The cross-border nature of NI’s agri-food industry, where Ireland is its largest export market, means that NI needs to remain competitive in order to be able to serve its largest market, particularly if its dual market access to the EU is to grow to its true potential.

This will only be achieved via a coherent tool kit of economic policies, not the least of which should include pro-business and pro-family succession tax reliefs. It is for this reason that the Government should exclude NI from these changes.

The Committee also highlighted a range of other issues in the submission as follows:

• The campaign to reduce the rate of corporation tax in NI,
• The tax burden and complexity arising from cross-border and remote/hybrid working on the island of Ireland,
• Tax simplification and the lack of progress in this area,
• Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and the need to delay the implementation of mandatory tax adviser registration from 1 April 2026, and
• The ongoing need for climate and environmental objectives to feature significantly in UK budgets, which includes a range of tax policy recommendations.

We encourage you to read the full submission at the link above.