In keeping with a now-familiar pattern of sudden and short-sighted announcements, the UK Government has published draft legislation confirming its planned reforms to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR).
First proposed in the Autumn 2024 Budget, these changes will see relief fall from 100% to 50% on any qualifying value above £1 million, effectively opening up farming families and diversified rural businesses to a level of inheritance tax exposure unseen for generations.
And let’s be clear, a £1 million threshold is all but meaningless in the context of modern farming. The capital required to operate even a modestly sized agricultural business far exceeds that figure. This is not a tax on excess; it is a tax on resilience, on succession, and ultimately, on viability.
Many had hoped the Government would reconsider. As we saw with winter fuel payments…
