How have they been affected?

Trusts are a good tax planning strategy, and because of the way the changes have been introduced by the Labour government, they're actually now more favored than they were before.

But long-term planning is required to make the most of those trust opportunities.

Many business owners do not like trusts and are reluctant to use them, but it is very important that they discuss with their advisors how trusts could feature within their ownership structure in order to protect the business against potential inheritance tax charges whilst continuing to give control for the existing older generation and to protect both against taxes, but also other p- potential family problems, bad relationships, et cetera.

What options are open to them?

In terms of options open to older business owners, the key thing we're looking at is seven-year survival in terms of making gifts.

It's not just a case of seven-year survival because the inheritance tax will reduce after three years if there's a substantial liability because of taper relief.

So you, you could be making a significant difference to potential exposure over a relatively few years.