Summer 2005 Newsletter Content More of the same? Around the world Hot tips Inside out? Sweet sacrifice Simple trust Done and dusted? Open immediately File under E An Inspector calls CO still OK Open for business High PHI Arctic chills Duty calls Pensions Fuelling around WIP round Win some, lose some Take it and go? Party talk Work less, earn less Making adjustments

Open for business You may know that stately homes get an Inheritance Tax relief - as long as the owners open them to the public, they don't have to pay IHT on the value. If they decide to shut the masses out, then they have a bill that will probably be crippling. The Marquess of Hertford recently won an ingenious argument with the Revenue. He claimed that his stately home was open to the public because it was his business, not because he wanted to put off paying the IHT. It generated income from entry fees and shop sales. It was therefore business premises, and business premises are covered by a 100% relief from IHT - that's a permanent exemption, rather than a deferral. The Revenue tried to argue that the 22% of the building that he lived in should not be eligible for the relief, but the Commissioners reckoned that there was a single home, and it could not be divided up into separate bits. It was certainly used for the business, and it enjoyed the relief. Presumably this means the Marquess could now shut the business and throw out the visitors, and he would have no IHT to pay. However, he needs the income to maintain the building. So, Catch-22, he will have to keep it open anyway.