Bureaucrats do enjoy creating clunky names and here is a fine example. But keep reading as this one has money to give away.
The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSWLEP), which covers Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay is one of 39 LEPs created across the country following the Coalition Government’s Local Growth White Paper of October 2010.
They replaced the role of the Regional Development Agencies which were disbanded simultaneously but the LEPs have taken too long to develop anything like an effective role.
This is largely because the Government gave little or no guidance, leadership or financial support to help the LEPs develop.
The HotSWLEP (a snappy little acronym) is a partnership managed by a voluntary board consisting of business leaders, alongside representatives from local government and educational institutions. They work together to lead and influence the economy of Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay by improving economic growth and job creation.
The HotSWLEP’s key achievement has been the award of the highest allocation of funding in the country in the second round of the Growth Deal - £65.2 million - and the LEP aims to use this to deliver transformational growth in the South West.
However, the big question for most businesses is how can we access any of this money?
In recognition of this difficulty the HotSWLEP is about to launch a new Growth Hub which will be available for all businesses, whatever size or sector, to include farmers and other rural businesses, in the Heart of the South West area.
The Growth Hub will be a single point of contact, free at the point of access, for all businesses seeking advice and support on any issues relating to the operations and aspirations of their business and signposting to international, national or local resources.
Enquiries can be about anything that business owners may wish to ask - whether they are looking for information on new funding opportunities from grants or loans, where to go for tax advice or help with their expansion plans, innovation or export.
A core value of the Heart of the South West Growth Hub is to simplify the often confusing range of local and national, public and private sector business support services that are on offer in the UK, so that businesses can make an informed choice about what type of support is best for them.
The signposting service is offered free as part of the HotSW LEP’s Growth Deal funding, and the expert business support advisors will be on hand to deal with questions themselves or refer to experts in specialist areas.
Providing a top-quality, seamless business support service is a major part of the HotSWLEP’s strategy to generate transformational economic growth through a range of initiatives that will help businesses grow, including infrastructure improvement, skills development and inward investment.
Businesses can email info@heartofswgrowthhub.co.uk or phone 03456 047 047 to register their interest. Alternatively visit the interim website and complete our business support enquiry form: http://www.heartofswgrowthhub.co.uk/register-your-interest/
James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk
A property blog written and authored by our specialist blogging team, discussing all and any matter relating to the residential, rural and commercial property markets.
Showing posts with label agricultural property relief. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agricultural property relief. Show all posts
Thursday, 14 April 2016
Monday, 14 April 2014
Tax reliefs for farmers
Accountants are always advising farmers to manage their affairs carefully so as to be able to take full advantage of the potentially generous reliefs which may be available to them under the Inheritance Tax (IHT) regime.
However, according to Catherine Desmond of accountants Saffery Champness, the National Audit Office (NAO) is launching an investigation in to the misuse of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), both of which are very important reliefs available to farmers which can reduce or potentially illuminate the need to pay IHT on death. But with an impending investigation by the NAO it seems inevitable that claims for such reliefs will be brought under ever increasing scrutiny.
Accordingly farmers are advised to review their farming business regularly to ensure any changes in farming structure, ownership or occupation do not impact on their potential tax liability.
For example recent changes in planning regulations may encourage some farmers to argue buildings are no longer in agricultural use but the flip side of that coin will be that the Revenue may look to claim such buildings have a value on which reliefs may not be available.
Similarly we will all have seen Solar Parks and other renewable energy projects popping up all over the place and it may be that these developments will change the IHT status of the land and possibly the wider farming business depending upon the scale of the project. Further, another popular device used by landowners, who want to be seen to be farming rather than letting land for IHT purposes, is a contract farming agreement whereby the landowner employs a third party to carry out the farming operations on their behalf. In simple terms arrangement involves the landowner/farmer paying for all inputs over and above the contractor’s charges and then the landowner/farmer benefits from the profits, or losses generated once the crop or other produce has been sold.
This exposes the landowner to the true risk of running a farm but in many cases, although the written agreement may be satisfactory, the reality on the ground may be very different with the contractor effectively “farming” the land while the landowner receives a payment which is more akin to a rent than profit. Such an arrangement may fall foul of scrutiny by the Revenue which could be very costly if this resulted in the value of the land being taxed at 40% rather than receiving 100% relief from tax under either APR or BPR rules.
So the message is that farmers who are growing older should sit down with the family and their trusted professional advisors to ensure they take advantage of any tax reliefs that may be available or are at the very least are appraised of the potential IHT liability if they were to die in a relatively short period of time.
This all seems quite sensible but very often families do not want to discuss the inevitable for one reason or another or professional fees are perceived to be too high and as a result such discussions may not take place until it is too late which in the worst case scenario may jeopardise the future of a family farm.
However, according to Catherine Desmond of accountants Saffery Champness, the National Audit Office (NAO) is launching an investigation in to the misuse of Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), both of which are very important reliefs available to farmers which can reduce or potentially illuminate the need to pay IHT on death. But with an impending investigation by the NAO it seems inevitable that claims for such reliefs will be brought under ever increasing scrutiny.
Accordingly farmers are advised to review their farming business regularly to ensure any changes in farming structure, ownership or occupation do not impact on their potential tax liability.
For example recent changes in planning regulations may encourage some farmers to argue buildings are no longer in agricultural use but the flip side of that coin will be that the Revenue may look to claim such buildings have a value on which reliefs may not be available.
Similarly we will all have seen Solar Parks and other renewable energy projects popping up all over the place and it may be that these developments will change the IHT status of the land and possibly the wider farming business depending upon the scale of the project. Further, another popular device used by landowners, who want to be seen to be farming rather than letting land for IHT purposes, is a contract farming agreement whereby the landowner employs a third party to carry out the farming operations on their behalf. In simple terms arrangement involves the landowner/farmer paying for all inputs over and above the contractor’s charges and then the landowner/farmer benefits from the profits, or losses generated once the crop or other produce has been sold.
This exposes the landowner to the true risk of running a farm but in many cases, although the written agreement may be satisfactory, the reality on the ground may be very different with the contractor effectively “farming” the land while the landowner receives a payment which is more akin to a rent than profit. Such an arrangement may fall foul of scrutiny by the Revenue which could be very costly if this resulted in the value of the land being taxed at 40% rather than receiving 100% relief from tax under either APR or BPR rules.
So the message is that farmers who are growing older should sit down with the family and their trusted professional advisors to ensure they take advantage of any tax reliefs that may be available or are at the very least are appraised of the potential IHT liability if they were to die in a relatively short period of time.
This all seems quite sensible but very often families do not want to discuss the inevitable for one reason or another or professional fees are perceived to be too high and as a result such discussions may not take place until it is too late which in the worst case scenario may jeopardise the future of a family farm.
James Stephen MRICS FAAV
Partner
Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor, Wells
T: 01749 683381
E: james.stephen@carterjonas.co.uk
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