John Newcomb, CEO of the BMF is one of 32 signatories to the open letter. Five other construction bodies are also signatories to the letter – the British Coatings Federation, the Construction Plant-Hire Association, the Electrical Contractors Association, the Home Builders Federation and Commercial Interiors UK. In total 32 trade and industry bodies that collectively represent 160,000 UK family firms and farms have added their support to the letter.
The BMF, which represents the UK’s building materials sector, believes the planned change to inheritance tax will have a profound impact on enterprise, and a potential knock-on effect on the nation’s ability to build homes.
Independent economic modelling commissioned by Family Business UK and conducted by CBI Economics suggests that far from raising revenue, the changes to BPR alone could result in a £1.25bn net fiscal loss to the Exchequer, lead to more than 125,000 job losses and reduce economic activity (GVA) by £9.4bn over the course of the Parliament.
“Construction is absolutely critical to the lifeblood of the UK economy, but we are hearing across the industry that the changes in inheritance taxation could limit the future of the sector, with many private and family businesses across our membership reporting back that the impact of Business Property Relief will damage enterprise,” said John Newcomb.
“Most BMF members are now reviewing their sales and trading forecasts for the next two years and looking at investment decisions, stock levels and staffing numbers,” he continued.
“Early indications are that the proposed changes to Business Property Relief pose significant concerns to family-owned businesses.
“We suspect owners may choose to defer or cut back on investing in or expanding their operations in the near term, in areas such as upgrading production lines, replacing plant and machinery, adding to product ranges, opening new branches, or taking on more staff, especially apprentices,” added Mr Newcomb.
“This is a retrograde step for each company, and our supply chain, as it diverts money away from operational needs.”
