In April this year, the Institute’s NI Tax Committee wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury to raise its concerns about the disproportionate impact of the proposals to curtail the benefit of agricultural property relief and business property relief from April 2026, particularly in Northern Ireland, on genuine farming activity and family owned businesses. The Committee urged the Government to postpone the changes in order to consult wider and reframe this policy change in a way that it is more effectively targeted. Last week HM Treasury responded to the letter which you can read in full on our website. Unfortunately, the content of the letter suggests that the policy will be proceeding as planned, and there is no suggestion that there will be any mitigations to the draft policy as it currently stands.
It is therefore possible that later today, draft Finance Bill clauses for this policy change will be published as part of ‘L-day’. The Institute is therefore considering what further action needs to be take on this important issue.
In April, the NI Tax Committee also responded to the related technical consultation which took place earlier in the year.
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