UK businesses may lose Business Property Relief in five years’ time
The £1m cap on Business Property Relief (BPR) will not rise with inflation, meaning British businesses who are struggling with rising costs may not qualify to claim it in five years’ time.
Steve Rigby, co-CEO of Rigby Group said: “Unfortunately the £1m cap on BPR is not index linked to inflation and will not rise with it, so in 5 years’ time the cap will be incredibly low, meaning businesses who need to claim relief will not qualify for it. If the cap had been set at £3 million then 76% of claims would go away.”
He made the remarks at an Entrepreneurs Network breakfast hosted by leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Steve Rigby added: “The changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) have dominated the press, but the changes to BPR are likely to be wider reaching. Around 400,000 people are employed in agriculture compared with around 5 million people who are employed by medium sized businesses.”
Malli Kini a partner at Blick Rothenberg who attended the breakfast with Nimesh Shah, CEO of the firm, said: “We were pleased to welcome Steve Rigby as well as Philip Salter from The Entrepreneurs Network for a thought-provoking round table discussion with a group of entrepreneurs.”
He added: “We discussed the upcoming changes to Inheritance Tax for businesses and what other UK tax changes are impacting businesses. Steve and Philip’s candid insights covered everything from succession planning, the trend to outsource jobs out of the UK, all the way to the potential for businesses to completely relocate in response to these policy shifts.”
Malli said: “One of the main points raised was the challenges family businesses face when it comes to succession planning and positioning for future growth. With the tax landscape changing, many are having to accelerate plans and rethink their strategies for the years ahead.”
He added: “The key takeaway from the conversation is that keeping an open line of communication between business owners and policymakers is essential. This ongoing dialogue will be crucial in helping the UK foster a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that can benefit both todays and tomorrow’s entrepreneurs as well as helping to grow UK Plc.”