IHT business property relief – HMRC v Brander

On page 4, there is a note of the Upper Tribunal decision in HMRC v Brander [2010] UKUT 300. It will be recalled that this was a case which concerned a Scottish agricultural estate, the Whittinghame Estate, in which a mix of agricultural and rural activities were carried on. The main issue between the taxpayers and the Revenue was whether the deceased’s interest in the estate qualified for business property relief, or whether the deceased’s business consisted ‘wholly or mainly of making or holding investments’ so that relief would be denied by reason of the terms of s105 (3) IHT Act 1984. The taxpayers succeeded before the First Tier Tribunal ( Brander v HMRC [2009] UK FTT 101) and the appeal by the Revenue to the Upper Tribunal was dismissed.