UFU President presses the Prime Minister on the issue of Inheritance Tax
Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) President, William Irvine, has taken the opportunity of telling the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, that a significant number of farmers in Northern Ireland remain within the Inheritance Tax net.
The one-to-one discussion took place at a UK-Ireland summit event held in Belfast on Wednesday past (March 14th)
William Irvine commented:
“The Union recognises the amendments that have been made to the Inheritance Tax measures since the announcements made in the 2024 Budget.
“Prior to this, farm families could pass down their businesses from one generation to the next in a totally unhindered manner, from an Inheritance tax perspective.
“This is no longer the case. Yes, we have seen the initial £1M threshold made transferrable between spouses and the actual threshold figure subsequently increased to £2.5m per spouse.
“These changes, which were secured on the back of an extremely proactive UFU lobbying campaign, constitute a potential tax saving of up to £800,000.”
He added:
“However, figures released by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and rural Affairs confirm that 30% of farmers are not married.
“This means that an inheritance tax threshold of only £2.5M kicks in, specifically where these farming operations are concerned.
But the reality here is that given current land valuations plus the value of stock, buildings and machinery many such businesses will be directly exposed to inheritance tax. “
William Irvine also told the Prime Minister that Northern Ireland remains significantly more exposed to the current Inheritance tax measures than any other part of the UK.
He explained:
“This reflects the fact that so many local farms are actually owned by the people operating them and, moreover, land prices here are significantly higher than is the case in other parts of the UK.
“And the case must also be made for those larger farms with a current valuation that exceeds £5M. The end result will be a significant impact on the economy of Northern Ireland as a whole.
William Irvine continued:
“I made it clear to the Prime Minister that farming families here had to cope with 14 months of unmitigated stress between the Chancellor’s 2024 Budget statement and last December’s confirmation that the Inheritance Tax threshold would be raised to £2.5m on the basis that the figure would also be made transferrable between spouses.”
He concluded;
“But the bottom line is this: the issue of Inheritance tax remains unfinished business for the Ulster Farmers’ Union.”
In response to the points made by William Irvine, the Prime Minister is reported to have confirmed that the vast majority of farmers in Northern Ireland are now out of the Inheritance Tax net.