Readers’ forum: Does transferring beneficial ownership trigger capital gains tax?

Family business

I act for a farming partnership the partners being father mother and two sons. As part of an inheritance tax planning exercise the partners will be introducing their individually owned assets to the balance sheet with a view to obtaining business property relief on let farm buildings and cottages in line with the Balfour and Farmer cases.

Under the partnership agreement the partners will retain the beneficial interest in property they introduce to the partnership so that no capital gains tax arises and the introduction will be reflected by the creation of land capital accounts.

Ideally we would like to transfer some of the cottages between the partners but the direct transfer of the cottages would result in significant CGT liabilities and we have already used up their nil rate bands with other gifts into discretionary trusts. So if further trusts...