Nigel Farage suggested Richard Tice had been scapegoated as he was pressed on reports that companies owned by the Reform No2 did not pay nearly £100,000 in tax on profits
Nigel Farage has refused to commit to a probe into his No2’s tax affairs after reports that companies he owns donated over £1million to Reform UK.
The Reform UK chief leapt to Richard Tice’s defence after claims four shell companies he ran did not pay nearly £100,000 tax on profits from 2020 to 2022. He was accused of deflecting and branded “in complete denial” by Labour.
It comes after reports that multi-millionaire Mr Tice’s property investment firm, Tisun Investments Ltd, transferred £1,113,000 to Reform UK. When asked if the party would carry out a probe now that Mr Tice’s companies’ tax affairs are directly linked to the party, Mr Farage swerved the question and suggested Mr Tice was being scapegoated.
He has faced calls to sack Mr Tice following an investigation by the Sunday Times which raised serious questions. Mr Tice himself said he would pay up if it turns out his firms should have coughed up more to HMRC.
READ MORE: Labour says Reform Richard Tice’s ‘credibility is in tatters’ after ‘£100,000 tax failure’READ MORE: Livid Keir Starmer insists ‘I wasn’t told’ as he faces MPs’ grilling over Mandelson scandal
Mr Farage said: “So I remember this all happening ten years ago. Ten years ago, Richard Tice came out publicly as a Brexiteer and guess what happened? What always happens? An immediate investigation into him by the by HMRC. as happens to all of us that dare to take on the system, big investigation media around it.
“At the end of it it was discovered he’d overpaid tax and HMRC actually gave him a rebate. And here we are, 10 years on, we’re going through the same process.
“I would just say a couple of things very clearly now. One, I’m not surprised because this is somebody in business, you know, who’s had a lot of different companies under his operation.
“So I’m not surprised that it’s happening. Secondly, of course, you must remember that the accuser is a Labour Party activist. I think that’s quite an important point.”
He was referring to tax expert Dan Neidle, who has been investigating Mr Tice’s tax affairs alongside The Sunday Times. The newspaper claimed Mr Tice’s firms were set up purely to receive dividends from Mr Tice’s property investment firm and pass the money to their parent company.
Between March 2020 and May 2022, Tisun Investments Ltd, then transferred £1,113,000 to Reform UK, it was claimed. After it was pointed out to him at a press conference that Mr Neidle had also investigated Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner‘s tax affairs, Mr Farage conceded: “Well Angela Rayner he did do, but he is a Labour Party activist.
“And it’s funny, there’ve been a lot more attacks on us than they have on the others. And as Richard says, all of this was done by professional accountants and he has spoken to HMRC about it.
“If there’s a problem, he will pay, but it’s likely that there’s not a problem because someone like Richard – who by the way, has run big PLCs in this country during his business career and you know the guy is not there to make mistakes and employs the top professionals.”
He went on: “It’s very easy to throw accusations around about people’s tax. You know, all I would say to you is Richard Tice has had a long, distinguished career in business, and if there is an error, if his accountants have made an error, he’ll put it right.
“But I very, very much doubt that that will be the case.” Labour chair Anna Turley said Mr Farage should urgently explain why Mr Tice remains his second-in-command.
She accused Mr Farage of deflecting, and said: “This is a serious scandal and Reform’s leadership are in complete denial.
“This isn’t going away. Richard Tice has demanded that others resign over smaller tax errors and now he believes the rules don’t apply to him.”
And she went on: “This latest scandal shows Reform are not on the side of working people, they are just in it for themselves.”
In a statement on X, Mr Tice said: “In a highly successful career spanning 40 years, I have done business in 12 countries across three continents, and been a director of more than 150 companies.”
“I have helped build thousands of homes, creating thousands of jobs and generating hundreds of millions of value for shareholders and investors along with many tens of millions of tax for HMRC. I am very proud of this record. Throughout this career I have taken professional tax advice and have always paid everything that I was advised to pay.
“Here’s the reality: tax efficiency is a basic corporate responsibility and duty to shareholders. A long career with multiple businesses is bound to feature some errors. Naturally I am always happy to put things right and if numbers need rechecking, of course I will pay what is owed – be that more or less. It is worth noting that last time my political enemies did this to me, during the Brexit referendum, HMRC concluded that I had significantly overpaid.”
He added: He added: “The relentless effort to tarnish my good name is the kind of behaviour that deters other successful business people from going into politics. The consequences are very real – as we can all see with the current Labour Cabinet, which is entirely devoid of business experience. The result? A flatlining economy and dire public services. All in a nation facing humiliation on the world stage.
“After several weeks of this treatment, I won’t be indulging the Sunday Times any further. I am working flat out for my constituents and campaigning for the local elections. If my primary interest were making money, I wouldn’t be giving everything I’ve got to trying to save our country.”