Agriculture: Five Great Challenges

Jeremy Moody, Secretary and National Adviser to the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, spoke at Harper Adams University on Thursday 15th October on 'Agriculture: Five Great Challenges'. Opening with the observation that necessity is the mother of invention Jeremy commented that farming only adapts when it has to do so. Jeremy identified his five great …

Disinherited? Don’t lose heart. Disinheriting? Take care …

'Woman rejected by mother in will wins £164,000 inheritance' according to the BBC's headline.  Melita Jackson died on 29 June 2004 leaving her net estate of £486,000 to a selection of charities.  Melita had had little if anything to do with these charities during her lifetime.  Sadly Melita had fallen out with her only child, …

Inheritance Tax Residence Exemption: Even more smoke and mirrors from the 2015 Summer Budget

The fanfare for this Summer's July Budget trumpeted the arrival of a £1 million IHT exemption for the family home.  The detail is not so clear cut.  Chancellor George Osborne has introduced a new residence exemption from IHT.  It works like this.The new exemption will start in 2017 at £100,000 per person, and rises to …

Summer Budget 2015: Rural Points – More smoke and mirrors

The Inheritance Tax changes will be the headline grabbing feature for many rural property owners.  But is all what it seems?  A few other budget points also need attention if you're interested in rural property and farming. Business-wise the decision to set the Annual Investment Allowance at £200,000 permanently from January 2016 is important, and …

Strategy and the land manager

These slides provide an update on the survey I have been undertaking for my RAU 100 Club/RICS (Royal Agricultural University/Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Fellowship on the topic of strategy in rural estate management. The 151 respondents to date have been involved in the management of at least 1.973 million acres in the last year, and …