Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 19 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out an assessment of how agriculture in Scotland could be impacted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s recent announcement of changes to the inheritance tax system for farms from April 2026.
Our rural economies will be hit by the proposed changes to Inheritance Tax’s Agricultural Property Relief.
It is disappointing that there had been no prior indication of the change or engagement with the Scottish Government. Indeed, ahead of the election a Labour spokesperson had explicitly stated there was no intention of changing APR.
The Scottish Parliament recently debated this matter and agreed to call on the UK Government to reverse the changes –and urgently commit to undertake and publish impact assessments on the cumulative impact of its budget proposals on farmers and crofters in Scotland.
Given the lack of available data on the impact of this decision, there should now be an immediate review of this policy, informed by close engagement with the agricultural sector and devolved governments.
The Scottish Government want to see a tax system that supports – rather than hinders – orderly succession planning and the transfer of land to the next generation of custodians.