With the original social experiment on air again, Big Brother’s and the viewing public’s beady eyes are on the new crop of housemates.
There is the usual diverse mix of housemates; with differing ages, gender identities, backgrounds and political views, which lead to interesting and thought-provoking discussions much enjoyed by the viewing public.
As a member of the Private Client team here at Greene & Greene, I was especially interested to hear Farmer Cameron discussing with his new housemates the issues facing farming families in light of the changes in Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief and the likely reality that they will be faced with in that they will have to start selling farming assets in order to meet the inheritance tax liability as the farm passes through the family.
Farmer Cameron also raised the possibility of estate planning and lifetime gifting options to minimise future inheritance tax charges, whilst noting that people do not always have the opportunity to do this if they for example, unexpectedly develop a terminal illness.
It is good to see open discussions in relation to the impact of the changes to these inheritance tax reliefs and the lifetime gifting options in a popular culture setting. Hopefully this will spark fresh discussions with viewers and their families and that people will consider the uncomfortable notion of their own mortality and what they would like to happen with their assets when they are no longer here.
The Budget on Wednesday 26th November will certainly be an interesting one, and all eyes will be on Rachel Reeves. Unfortunately, when it comes to tax reliefs unlike the Big Brother housemates, which ones go, we don’t decide!
If you would like to discuss any issues raised in this article, please contact Gemma Stow, gemmastow@greene-greene.com or call 01284 717520.
This is only intended to be a summary and not specific legal advice.
