THE CLA (Country Land and Business Association) has commented on a Government announcement of a significant change to its planned reforms to the:- Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), with the valuation threshold rising from:- £1m to £2.5m, or £5m for married couples.
The change comes after intense lobbying from the CLA since the reforms were announced in 2024. This lobbying has intensified in recent weeks after the Finance Bill began its passage through Parliament.
Gavin Lane, President of the Country Land and Business Association, said:- "This change will come as an enormous relief to thousands of family farms across the country who faced seeing their businesses taxed out of existence. The Government deserves credit for recognising the flaws in the original policy and changing course. However, this announcement only limits the damage; it doesn't eradicate it entirely. Many family businesses will own enough expensive machinery and land to be valued above the threshold, yet still operate on such narrow profit margins that this tax burden remains unaffordable. On that basis, we thank Ministers for the constructive dialogue, we look forward to working in partnership to grow the rural economy, whilst continuing to call for these reforms to be scrapped entirely."
