Last week, the Northern Ireland Tax Committee wrote to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (“FST”) to express its concerns in respect of the proposal to restrict the geographical scope of agricultural property relief (“APR”) and woodlands relief (“WR”) from April 2024. The Committee would also like to hear your views on a recently launched consultation examining potential new tax incentives for occupational health.
Letter to the FST
Draft legislation was published on “L” day in July setting out in detail the measure announced in the 2023 Spring Budget which will restrict agricultural property relief and woodlands relief to UK land and property only from 6 April 2024.
In the letter to the FST, the Northern Ireland Tax Committee sets out the case for continuing to treat Irish land and property as potentially qualifying for APR and WR given the particular impact the proposal will have on Northern Ireland (“NI”) taxpayers and NI’s close proximity to Ireland. The letter also sets out the retrospective nature of the draft legislation on transactions prior to 6 April 2024 and how unfair this is.
New consultation on occupational health incentives
Also, on “L” day in July, HMRC and HM Treasury launched a joint consultation on tax incentives for occupational health. This consultation is open until 12 October 2023 and specifically seeks views on how expanding the existing benefit in kind exemption for medical benefits could help employers provide more services, essentially helping people back into work. We’d like to hear your views on this consultation by Friday 29 September.