2 days ago
Cornish Ayr Holiday Park owner feels ‘victimised' by government tax changes
ITV News West Country's Grace Pascoe has been speaking to the owner of the holiday park.
The owner of a Cornish holiday park says he feels 'victimised' by the current Labour government due to changes in Business Property Relief and Inheritance Tax.
Andrew Baragwanath, who owns Ayr Holiday Parksays, says the changes could cost him around 1 million pounds in what he calls a 'tax grab' by the government.
The changes have led him to consider holding off on new investment in the business and to not replace employees who leave.
He said: 'We have about 30 employees here at the moment, which we keep on all year round. Due to some of the tax changes, I now would look very carefully at replacing any employee that left.
"Similarly, I'm looking at whether to replace any caravans. Normally I buy new caravans every year, that may not be possible now.
"We've got to look at retaining money in the business or taking out perhaps insurance policies, spending money on legal and accountancy advice, which, frankly, we just see is dead money.
"It's all about looking how to protect the business from what we see as a tax grab. I feel victimised by this government.
"It's almost as though we're the enemy and they don't want family businesses to thrive. And I know we want to fund the NHS and all the other things government has to do, but they also have to take into account there is an unintended consequence".
Andrew still hopes to pass the family run holiday park on to his daughter who is involved in the business but is considering all options.
"The impact of the business property relief and inheritance tax changes is quite massive. Potentially it could put a £1 million tax bill on the business. One exit would be to sell the whole business, but quite likely it could be bought by one of the big groups.
"I think it's a shame because you then lose out on the personal attention and the detail on the park and the care you get from being family-owned rather than being part of a group".
A new report from Family Business UK and CBI Economics reveals that family-owned businesses in the South West are expecting to cut almost 19,000 jobs and reduce investment by more than 16% leading to a drop in economic activity worth almost £1.3bn.
Deborah Walker, Director General of the British Holidays and Home Parks Association wants the government to reverse its decision. She said" 'We're urging the government to take another look at the figures. The government thinks that it's going to raise taxes with this inheritance tax.
"But the figures show that there actually is actually going to cost the Treasury £130 million and what it's also going to do is force much loved family-run businesses to have to sell up or close down and those are exactly the sort of businesses that are driving rural and coastal economies.'
The new rules on Business Property Relief are set to come into effect in April 2026.
In response a HM Treasury spokesperson said: 'Our reforms to Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs will mean three quarters of estates will continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter will pay half the inheritance tax that most estates pay, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach which helps fix the public services we all rely on.
'Capping the rate of corporation tax, reforming planning, establishing a National Wealth Fund and creating pension megafunds is part of our Plan for Change to get Britain building, unlock investment and support business so we can raise living standards and make all parts of the country better off'.
