Richard Tice faces demand to ‘urgently clarify’ himself over £91k tax declare
Richard Tice is facing demands to “urgently explain” himself over allegations his company broke the law by failing to pay more than £90,000 in tax
Richard Tice is facing demands to “urgently explain” himself over allegations his firm failed to pay tax(Image: PA)
Richard Tice is facing demands to “urgently explain” himself over allegations his company broke the law by failing to pay more than £90,000 in tax.
Reform UK’s deputy leader reportedly failed to pay a required levy on dividends before they were channelled to him and his offshore trust.
Mr Tice, who is the business, trade and energy spokesman for Nigel Farage’s party, received at least £91,000 in excess payments because of the alleged failure, according to the Sunday Times.
The allegations relate to his property investment firm Quidnet REIT Ltd, which is said to have gained a rare legal status known as REIT (a real estate investment trust).
REITs are exempt from paying corporation tax during a grace period. Firms with the status instead issue a portion of a company’s earnings to shareholders, who are then taxed individually.
READ MORE: Reform chief faces demand to ‘urgently’ respond to ‘£600k tax avoidance’ claim
The Times said the law requires REITs to deduct a proportion of dividends – known as withholding tax – before making payments to shareholders. This is then charged at the 20% basic rate of income tax.
Mr Tice’s firm allegedly broke this law by failing to hold back tax before paying shareholders on at least three occasions between 2020-2021. The Sunday Times claimed that overall Mr Tice did not deduct tax from dividends, which were worth around £456,000, leading to a tax shortfall of around £91,200.
Mr Tice insisted he has “paid all tax at the highest rate on all dividends received. HMRC has been paid in full”.
Tax expert Dan Neidle told the Sunday Times: “The rules are fairly simple and understood by everyone in the property world. Failure to pay the tax looks careless.”
He added: “We believe it’s clear from the company’s accounts and public filings that it did not [pay tax owed]. The company was legally required to pay tax and, if it did not, that tax should now be paid.”
Labour’s chair Anna Turley said the situation was a “major scandal”, adding: “Tice must now urgently explain why his business did not pay the tax that appears to have been owed, pay it back, and face the consequences. His credibility is shot and his integrity is in serious question.”
Mr Tice on Sunday accused the Sunday Times of trying to “smear me”. He said: “All that effort has revealed overall HMRC received the correct amount of tax due.”
Mr Tice last month came under pressure after an investigation into his firm’s REIT status amid claims he avoided paying hundreds of thousands of pounds in corporation tax.
Mr Tice insisted he complied with all the rules. He said there was no “obligation” to pay the maximum tax required and encouraged members of the public to pay as little tax as possible “within the legal limit”.
Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman, claimed the latest claims were a “non-story”. He said: “It looks like the company itself rather than Richard personally made what I think is quite a minor administrative error.
“But as I said, Richard, in receiving the dividends, would have ended up paying income tax on all of it and in the end HMRC have netted out at the same thing.
“It was years ago. Look, we’re going into election period. The Sunday papers are coming after senior reform figures, it’s not a surprise but this is a non story.“
A Labour spokesman criticised Mr Yusuf’s for “dismissing serious allegations”. They said: “If Reform’s deputy leader and business spokesman cannot get the basics of paying tax right, it’s hard to see why hard-working people should trust him or his party with their money.”
