Plan for potential UK land tax changes

Farmers in the UK should plan for potential changes arising from the Office of Tax Simplification’s review of inheritance tax, according to Andrew Vickery from rural accountancy firm Old Mill.

The recommendation to remove the capital gains uplift that is used for calculating capital gains tax bills was the main proposal in the review, which could impact farmers and landowners.

Removal of the uplift would mean that many landowners who sell inherited property would face significantly higher capital gains tax bills (see www.ifj.ie/ots).

Vickery said that for the Treasury to adopt the proposals, a public consultation would likely be needed and any changes would not be expected before the autumn budget at the earliest.

“Whether there is even an appetite to make big changes to the tax system in light of the Brexit uncertainty remains to be seen. However, it is worth it for farmers and estate owners to familiarise themselves with the OTS proposals and speaking to their accountant to see what the effects might be,” he said.

Rural crime not under control - UFU

Despite recent PSNI statistics showing that the number of rural crime cases in NI in the year to the end of March 2019 were the lowest since records were first compiled in 2010/2011, the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has claimed that rural crime is still far from under control.

The latest NFU Mutual rural crime report shows that the cost of rural crime in NI increased to £2.757m in 2018, up 3.9% from the previous year.

The worst-affected county was Antrim, where the cost came in at £805,680, up 44% on 2017.

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