Allister urges Executive to act on Conacre ruling
05 March 2009
TUV MEP Jim Allister has urged the Executive to act to defend the future of family farm succession in Northern Ireland.
In response to the recent Court of Appeal decision to uphold a ruling by the Special Commissioners to introduce inheritance tax liability on land let in conacre, which is deemed to have development potential, the MEP said,
“In the immediate aftermath of the Special Commissioners ruling that conacre land may come within the scope of inheritance tax, I wrote to then Finance Minister Peter Robinson, urging him to make strenuous representations to London for the necessary legislative change required to overturn this ruling. While this is not strictly a devolved matter, local Ministers could carry much weight in representing local interests on this issue. His response at that time was disappointing, saying that his Department does not have a direct role in this area, while referring the matter on to Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew”.
“Now that the Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the Special Commissioners, my concerns are re-ignited. In their earlier response to correspondence from my office, DARD undertook to carefully consider the possible impact on the agricultural industry, if this case was lost. Now that this has happened, I appeal afresh to DARD and DFP as to what action they propose to take.”
“It is my view that the Executive should now be pressing for legislative change, or the impact on farming families will be devastating”.
ENDS
