Nigel Farage lashed out at a reporter and challenged her to give him a lecture on tax law when asked about Richard Tice's tax affairs at a press conference. Farage insisted his deputy Richard Tice had paid the correct tax, suggesting Tice might have slightly overpaid tax. 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's company Quidnet REIT Ltd mistakenly failed to pay the tax required by law and is now required to pay it, according to tax expert Dan Neidle. Richard Tice has been accused of failing to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax on dividends that were paid to him and his offshore trust. Tax expert Dan Neidle said Richard Tice's company broke the law and the tax was due immediately, not months later.
Do give me a lecture on REITs and how they work, would you? I mean, while we're here, give us the benefit of your knowledge on this. I'd be thrilled.
Richard Tice's property company used a real estate investment trust (REIT) status, which meant it paid no corporation tax between 2018 and 2021, according to The Sunday Times. Richard Tice's firm Quidnet Reit Ltd did not pay corporation tax for a three-year grace period, even though it did not qualify to be a REIT company, according to The Sunday Times. Labour has urged HMRC to investigate Richard Tice's tax arrangements.
Labour Treasury minister Torsten Bell said Richard Tice aggressively avoided tax and his company just plain failed to pay tax that was legally due. Labour chair Anna Turley said Richard Tice is taking the public for fools and needs to come clean about why he avoided £600,000 in tax. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said Richard Tice's actions were morally completely indefensible and Farage should sack him immediately.
Nor am I, thank you.
Richard Tice claimed the allegations were a smear and highlighted Sir Ed Davey's role in the Post Office scandal. Richard Tice argued all Britons should do their best to pay the minimum tax possible, dismissing the newspaper investigation as a smear. Richard Tice said his firm Quidnet Reit Ltd was a UK company paying UK tax in accordance with UK laws.
Richard Tice accused the Labour Party of failing to pay tax on the revenue of its own property company, Labour Party Properties Limited. Richard Tice said he had complied with all relevant rules and his tax planning was entirely legitimate. Reform's homes affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf defended Richard Tice, saying the allegations were a non-story and any underpaid tax would have been overpaid by Tice in income tax.
If our biggest critic is Labour activist Dan Neidle – and he is a tax expert, he is, he’s good at it – if our biggest critic says that Richard Tice has not evaded or avoided tax, has paid the full amount, and actually, maybe even a little bit more the full amount, then I’m satisfied with that.
Reform councils have delivered more than £700 million in savings and imposed lower council tax increases than other parties, according to Richard Tice. 9% in Conservative-run councils. Key unknowns remain unresolved, including whether HMRC will investigate Richard Tice's tax affairs as urged by Labour.
The exact amount of tax Richard Tice's company failed to pay and whether it has been fully repaid are also unclear. Additionally, it is uncertain whether Richard Tice's use of REIT status was within legal intent or an abuse of the system, a point that could influence any potential legal outcomes. Further unknowns involve the broader political impact, such as the effect of these tax allegations on Reform UK's performance in upcoming local elections.
Reform UK promised to slash the waste and keep taxes low for hard-working families, and that’s exactly what we’ve delivered.
Whether Nigel Farage will take action, such as sacking Richard Tice, in response to the allegations is also not known, adding to the uncertainty surrounding Reform UK's internal dynamics and public response.
Through our ruthless efficiency drive, Reform has already delivered and identified more than £700 million in savings, with more large savings to follow, and Reform councils kept council tax rises far lower than bloated Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat authorities.
There was no ability to choose for different people to pay tax, months later than it should be paid. The law is the law. It’s not optional.
Farage should sack Richard Tice immediately.
Yes, of course, that’s what you should do.
Yes, within the legal limit. That is what you should do. Don’t morally or voluntarily give more tax to incompetent, wasteful hard-left, socialist governments to waste on your behalf.
I must thank the Sunday Times and Dan Neidle for their detailed article confirming that my tax planning was entirely legitimate. The libellous headline is the work of a desperate Establishment trying to smear me and Reform.