Budget Comment – Inheritance Tax Changes – Family Businesses
Immediate Release.
Neil Davy, Chief Executive Officer of Family Business UK said: “These changes are a betrayal of Britain’s hard working family business owners and farmers that will result in valuable businesses being closed, sold and jobs lost across the country.
“For all but the very smallest companies the changes to Business Property Relief are much the same as scrapping it entirely. Far from raising money for the Exchequer our research has shown that removing the reliefs will cost money – with a £29billion cut in economic activity and 391,000 jobs lost.
“On top of changes to Employer’s National Insurance, employment rights, and living wage, this is yet another burden heaped on Britain’s 4.8 million family owned businesses, and removes entirely any incentive for starting or running a family business.
“Inheritance tax reliefs are not loopholes, they are legitimate tax policies, introduced by a Labour Government in 1976, to ensure that businesses do not have to be broken up on the death of the owner, to the detriment of all the remaining employees, suppliers, customers, investors, the Treasury and wider economy.
“These changes effectively seize 20% of the capital of private trading companies saddling them with tax bills that, in most circumstances, cannot be met without selling the underlying business.
“Those inheriting a family business simply do not have 20% of the business value lying around in cash. This change will see a steady succession of family business sold or their underlying assets broken up to satisfy these ill-thought out policy changes.”
ENDS.
Contact the Family Business UK Press Office here.