Jon Golding looks at the claims for CGT holdover relief but highlights the latent drawbacks of such claims.
Relief for gifts of agricultural land was introduced in 1975 and expanded in 1978 to include other business assets. In 1980, the relief was extended by Sir Geoffrey Howe to cover all gifts (see below). Holdover relief was available on a gift of non-business assets to an individual where the gift was made at any time after 5 April 1980 and before 14 March 1989. On 26 March 1980, Sir Geoffrey Howe's budget statement said:
“Finally, I propose to remove the present double charge on gifts, which arises from the overlap between capital transfer tax and capital gains tax, by providing rollover relief for the latter. This has been a particular source of grievance and one on which representations have been received from a large number of people.”
