Consultation opens on planned reforms to Business Property Relief (BPR) and Agricultural Property Relief (APR) announced in the Autumn Budget

This year, the SPOA has continued to lobby on behalf of members regarding the changes to Business Property Relief (BPR) and Agricultural Property Relief (APR) announced in the Autumn Budget.

As members will recall, the government announced the following change:

• A new £1 million allowance to apply to the combined value of a business that qualifies for 100% business property relief and/or 100% agricultural property relief – after the £1 million allowance has been exhausted, relief will apply at a lower rate of 50% to the combined value of qualifying agricultural and business property.

An eight-week consultation has now opened, and we urge all members to take time to participate before it closes on 23^rd April. The consultation can be accessed and completed online here, where you will be asked to answer eight questions.

Alternatively, we encourage all members to maintain pressure by arranging a meeting with your local MP to lobby on your behalf. The SPOA can assist you with this, please email info@spoa.org.uk should you wish the help of a member of the Committee.

Mark Anderson recently supported the team at Blackwood Plant Hire by attending a meeting with Lillian Jones, MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, where we had the opportunity to outline our position and suggest alternatives to the proposals such as:

• Making the transfer of shares in a family business to the next generation exempt from Inheritance Tax for seven years providing the business is not sold in that period. If it is sold within that period then Inheritance Tax would become payable along with Capital Gains Tax, both of which can be funded from the disposal proceeds.
• Full BPR would apply to shares held in a discretionary trust where the shares are in a business that meets all the BPR qualifications. This would remove the entry charge post April 2026 and the 10-year charge of 3%.

Immediate Past President, John Sibbald, recently met with Kirsteen Sullivan, MP for Bathgate and Linlithgow, and Gregor Poynton, MP for Livingston, to discuss two key issues affecting the construction sector. During the meeting, John raised serious concerns regarding the ongoing skills shortage within the industry, stressing the critical need for continued investment in careers and training. He also outlined the potentially devastating impact the proposed changes to Business Property Relief (BPR) could have on privately owned businesses across Scotland. Both MPs were receptive to the issues raised, and John looks forward to further correspondence before the current consultation period concludes.

Please exercise your right to participate in this consultation. If the announced reforms go ahead in their current format, the impact on our plant industry and on many member family businesses will be devastating.​​​​

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