Reform UK’s Richard Tice allegedly failed to pay £100,000 in corporation tax | Richard Tice
Richard Tice allegedly withheld almost £100,000 in corporation tax for the benefit of his investment company, which in turn donated money to Reform UK.
In response to the report Sunday TimesReform UK’s deputy leader issued a lengthy statement on
According to the Sunday Times, Tice ran four shell companies without active business activities or significant assets that allegedly paid no taxes on their profits between 2020 and 2022.
The newspaper said the companies were formed to receive dividends from Tice’s real estate investment company and transfer the money to the parent company. Between March 2020 and May 2022, Tisun Investments Ltd transferred £1,113,000 to Reform UK, the newspaper reported.
The Liberal Democrats have written to John-Paul Marks, chief executive of HMRC, asking him to investigate Tice’s tax affairs.
Reform referred the Guardian to Tice’s statement about X when approached for comment.
He said: “The truth is: Tax efficiency is a fundamental corporate responsibility and a duty to shareholders. A long career involving multiple businesses inevitably leads to some mistakes. Naturally I’m always happy to put things right and if the figures need to be re-checked I will of course pay my dues – more or less.”
Tice accused the Sunday Times of “combing through my entire business career in the hope of uncovering some shady technical issue from years ago” and claimed the paper had colluded with Labor in a “smear campaign”.
Responding to the report, Labor leader Anna Turley said: “Richard Tice’s credibility is in tatters and Nigel Farage urgently needs to explain why he remains Reform’s deputy leader.
“Tice aggressively attacked the Sunday Times for raising questions about his tax affairs, but now admits he may not have paid the taxes he owed.”
He added: “This is a huge scandal that won’t go away. Tice called on others to resign over tax mistakes involving less money than that.”
Reform’s Treasury spokesman, Robert Jenrick, said Tice “thought he was paying the right tax”.
The former Conservative minister told the BBC’s show with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday: “Richard has taken advice, he believes he has paid the tax he should have paid. In fact, he thinks he may have paid too much tax because he paid it through personal taxation and not through the company.”
“If it turns out that his tax has been underpaid, of course he will sort that out. But that’s not his position. He thinks he’s paid the right tax, and that’s absolutely true. As far as I know, HMRC aren’t investigating. So there’s no story.”
