BKL’s Richard Crane has commented in The Times on HMRC’s extension of its definition of ‘food for human and animal consumption’ to include ‘grapes grown to produce wine and apples grown to produce cider’. Cultivating land in this way would qualify it as being used for the ‘purposes of agriculture’, affording it special relief from inheritance tax (IHT).
Richard said: “This may be seen as a significant extension to tax planning opportunities because it will become widely known that land for producing wine and cider is eligible for agricultural property relief.
The relief is not limited to land within the UK but extends throughout the European Economic Area, which could be an attraction for investors looking to reduce their inheritance tax liabilities while having the pleasure of owning a vineyard.”
The article also features our comment that beyond the grapes and apples specified by HMRC, ‘a case could be made for other fruit, such as pears used to make perry’.
The article, published in The Times on 9 February, is available by subscription and registration here on The Times website. We have also discussed HMRC’s updated ‘purposes of agriculture’ guidance in our recent piece on IHT and agriculture.
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