Tice firm failed to pay £91,000 tax on dividends

The Sunday Times reported that Quidnet REIT Ltd, owned by Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice, did not pay around £91,000 in withholding tax on dividends paid to Tice and his offshore trust between 2020 and 2021. The newspaper also claimed that Tice avoided nearly £600,000 in corporation tax through a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) scheme. According to research from two sources, Quidnet was a REIT from 10 September 2018 to 9 August 2021, and as a UK REIT, it was required to distribute at least 90% of its tax-exempt property rental profits to shareholders as Property Income Distributions (PIDs). The Sunday Times alleged that Quidnet did not pass the technical tests for REIT status at the time and gained it through a 'legal quirk', which could mean it owed corporation tax. Labour accused Tice of avoiding nearly £600,000 in corporation tax through the REIT scheme. The Sunday Times also reported that Tice channelled dividends into structures including an offshore trust and a string of dormant businesses, which reduced his exposure to tax. Taxpolicy.org.uk analysis of company accounts and public filings confirmed that Quidnet did not pay the required withholding tax to HMRC. The issue was first identified by Gabriel Pogrund of The Sunday Times. Quidnet never attracted more than a small number of outside investors, according to The Sunday Times.

Tice defended his company's tax practices, stating at a press conference that Quidnet REIT Ltd was 'a UK company paying UK tax in accordance with UK laws' and that there is no obligation to pay maximum tax. He argued that all Britons should pay the minimum tax possible within the law and dismissed the Sunday Times investigation as a smear. Tice said he would pay any tax owed if it turns out his firms underpaid, but he has refused to answer directly whether Quidnet failed to withhold tax, instead saying that he paid income tax on the dividends. He asked journalists: 'How many friends of yours would voluntarily choose to pay more tax than they are legally obliged to do?' and added: 'Don't morally or voluntarily give more tax to incompetent, wasteful hard-left, socialist governments to waste on your behalf.' In an open letter to Labour chair Anna Turley, Tice pointed to Labour Party Properties Ltd, a company that buys, sells and lets real estate, which he said had not paid corporation tax since 2000 despite receiving more than £30m in rental income. Companies House filings show Labour Party Properties' accounts are six months overdue.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage refused to commit to a probe into Tice's tax affairs and suggested Tice was being scapegoated. Reform UK's Zia Yusuf called the tax failure a 'minor administrative error'. Labour chair Anna Turley called for an urgent explanation from Nigel Farage and for HMRC to investigate, writing to HMRC after the Sunday Times report. Turley said the article presented a 'deeply troubling case which needs to be investigated with the utmost urgency'. Tice also claimed that Reform UK councils have delivered over £700 million in savings and kept council tax increases lower than other parties.

The exact total amount of tax allegedly owed by Tice's companies remains unclear, with the Sunday Times reporting two separate issues: a failure to withhold approximately £91,000 in tax on dividends and a broader corporation tax avoidance scheme involving nearly £600,000. It is unknown whether HMRC has opened an investigation into Tice's tax affairs. The question of whether Quidnet met the technical requirements for REIT status is disputed: The Sunday Times claims it did not, while Tice's company was officially a REIT from 2018 to 2021. Tice has suggested that any underpayment may have been an administrative error, but it is not confirmed whether the failure to pay withholding tax was intentional or a mistake. It also remains to be seen whether Nigel Farage or Reform UK will launch an internal investigation into Tice's tax affairs.