Many family owned businesses will have to be valued for the first time on the death of the owner leading to a ‘horrendous litigation environment’, warns tax and property experts.

Witnesses from family business groups, tax experts and Make UK for the manufacturing sector were all called before a House of Lords Finance Bill Sub-Committee and one of the most contentious topics was the valuation process changes as a result of business property relief (BPR) reforms.

Issues that were brought to light were the difficulty in valuing a business, HMRC’s ability to do so, the possibility of litigations, and the consequences reform will have on businesses and the wider economy.

Chair of the committee, Lord Liddle, asked the panel about the level of HMRC communications and business awareness of the changes.