Last year the Builders Merchants Federation and five other construction bodies put signatures on the letter to the Prime Minister warning that the move will impact family businesses across the sector hard.

A coalition of 88 cross-party Parliamentarians and 233 family businesses is warning the Chancellor of the Exchequer that proposed changes to Business Property Relief will devastate the UK economy, putting over 125,000 jobs and £9.4 billion in economic output at risk. 

Under the Government’s plans, 100% Business Property Relief would be capped at £1 million, tapering to 50% thereafter. Family business leaders and economic experts warn this could trigger a liquidity crisis, forcing family firms to borrow heavily, sell to foreign competitors, or risk closure, simply to pay inheritance tax.  

The news will be welcomed by the Builders Merchants Federation whose CEO John Newcomb wrote to the Prime Minister raising members’ concerns over the capping of Business Property Relief on Inheritance Tax and providing specific examples of the potential impact.

Yesterday (Monday 16 November), parliamentarians and business leaders met in Westminster for a roundtable chaired by John Lamont MP, Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons. Following the event, an open letter urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to rethink the reforms was delivered to the Treasury. The roundtable and letter are being coordinated by GAP Group, the UK’s largest privately-owned plant hire company which is a third-generation family business, alongside Robbie Moore MP, Shadow Minster for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Douglas Anderson, Joint Managing Director at GAP Group said: “This Government has publicly stated that it is committed to facilitating economic growth yet it appears hell-bent on implementing a policy that will do the exact opposite – a fact that is supported by the renowned and respected economic research organisation CBI Economics. We have spent the last 12 months highlighting the dire economic consequences of this proposed policy but, to date, the Government has refused to engage with us.”

Speaking on the wider implications, Lamont MP said: "Family businesses are the backbone of our economy and local communities. Labour's changes to Business Property Relief put their future at risk. Every time I meet family businesses, they tell me about the terrible impact these changes will have and how damaging they will be for much-needed economic growth. 

“Reeves must listen to the more than 250 businesses who have written to her and reverse these dreadful changes in her Budget."

Robbie Moore MP added: "We know that changes to Business Property Relief will devastate family businesses across the country. Those businesses with a desire to expand and succeed are being punished by this Government for their ambition.

"It has been a hugely encouraging to see cross party support for the joint letter and I hope that the Chancellor will read it carefully ahead of the budget later this month. There is no need for her to vindictively target family businesses and put them on an unfair playing field against other business structures. Nothing less than a full reversal of the Family Firm Tax will suffice."

This show of political force mirrors the unity already demonstrated by the BMF and five other construction bodies - British Coatings Federation, Construction Plant-Hire Association, Electrical Contractors Association, Home Builders Federation and Commercial Interiors UK - who put signatures on the letter to the Prime Minister at the end of last year.