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Lord Livermore (Lab)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 27 January 2025

Debate

Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs: OBR Costing

Contribution

Just to be clear with my noble friend, we are not doing what he says at the end of his question. I think it is worth revisiting the rationale for this policy in the first place. Of course, the Government recognise the role that reliefs play in supporting farms and small businesses. Importantly, the reliefs will continue to play that role, but the reality is that the full, unlimited exemption, which was introduced in 1992, has become unsustainable. Under the current system, the 100% relief on business and agricultural assets is heavily skewed towards the wealthiest landowners and business owners. According to the latest data from HMRC, 40% of agricultural property relief is claimed by just 7% of estates—that is just 117 estates claiming £219 million of relief. It is neither fair nor sustainable to maintain such a large tax break for such a small number of claimants.

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