QMS launches play to showcase succession and tax planning

Red meat levy board Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is taking the show on the road, putting on its own play that showcases how different family farm businesses tackle difficult conversations.

Audiences will hear from real-life industry specialists how to confront issues such as succession on farm and planning for the proposed changes to inheritance tax.

The performance, titled Succession, Finance, Legal Rights and Tax Planning: A Play, will take place on 12 February at Stirling Agricultural Centre, with a second event on 26 February near St Boswells, Melrose.

See also: OBR casts doubt on government’s farm IHT figures

It will feature a roundtable discussion between farming families, bankers, solicitors and accountants, and after the performance will include a question-and-answer session with professional advisers.

QMS is working in partnership with its monitor farm network to deliver the project, and there are plans for a recorded performance to be made available online for wider viewing.

Petra Grunenberg, a partner at legal firm Shepherd and Wedderburn, who will be taking part in the roundtable, said she hoped it would provide real-time questions and answers in a less formal setting.

She said: “This will hopefully make it easier for the audience to relate to and consider the subjects being discussed, which are often sensitive issues for individuals and families to deal with.”

Fellow participant Rona Jordan, an agricultural business manager with Virgin Money, added that role playing helped bring the issues to life and made the process more real, giving examples of some of the day-to-day conversations that take place with clients.

“We don’t expect guests to leave with all the answers, but we hope it will give them food for thought,” she said.

Tax update

Chartered accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael will also be providing attendees with the latest information on tax changes related to succession.

Jenn Stewart, partner and head of rural at Johnston Carmichael, said: “Succession is a topic which features in most rural businesses. These events give the opportunity to see the issues that arise when considering a succession plan, acted out in a family setting.”