Farming & Rural Business Community articles

As Rachel Reeves' second Budget starts to sink in, it is clear that, once again, there is relatively little in it to cheer the rural economy.

As shown by the ‘Jaffa Cake’ and ‘marshmallow’ VAT status sagas, the charging of VAT on ‘marginal’ food supplies can cause ramifications in the confectionary industry with implications for farming. In Walkers Snack Food Ltd v CRC in the Upper Tribunal, the ‘Sensations Poppadom’ came under question as to whether it was zero or standard-rated. Some might argue that the name ‘Walkers Snack Food’ does not promote zero-rated food. And who doesn’t love all those products. For the farm shop that acts as village shop and supplier of ‘goodies’ for all the farm diversified activities of campsites, farm ...

Those living in rural areas will know about septic tanks, a crude but surprisingly effective device for dealing with wastewater where no mains drainage is available. The technology has been around for centuries and, since there are no moving parts, there has often been little incentive for owners to upgrade. Unfortunately, traditional septic tanks are not particularly good at keeping nitrates and phosphates out of the water supply network, particularly where the run-off from the tank passes straight into a watercourse. As a result, in 2015 regulations were introduced to make such systems illeg...

As we will all be aware, the concept of the gift with retention of benefit, or GROB, was introduced in 1986 to avoid individuals making gifts with strings attached. The legislation was designed to combat instances of donors seeking to transfer property outside of their estate, whilst continuing to derive benefit. As a result, most estate planning starts with a consideration of the GROB aspects and endeavours to construct a plan which avoids any situation where a GROB might occur. This has become particularly relevant in an agricultural context recently where partnership reorganisations tied to...

Readers may not be aware, but the Farming & Rural Business Community advisory group is on the circulation list for consultations on which ICAEW may wish to contribute a view, and occasionally we add items to that list (such as DEFRA consultations) which do not always get picked up through the usual channels.

After a sunny and dry spring and summer, September has started with some welcome rain.

As mainstream agricultural profitability falls and the Budget for on-farm environmental schemes is under pressure and uncertain, many businesses are starting to consider other possibilities for diversification, including the longer-term environmental opportunities presented by Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and Nutrient Neutrality (NN).

As readers will be aware, the agricultural industry is not currently at its most buoyant.