Tice £91,000 tax row is ‘minor administrative error’, party claims
Tice £91,000 tax row is ‘minor administrative error’, party claims
Reform UK has defended its deputy leader, Richard Tice, stating that the dispute over tax payments by his property company constitutes “a minor administrative error.” The company, which Tice established and controlled, reportedly missed a £91,000 tax obligation before distributing profits to him and his offshore trust, as highlighted by the Sunday Times.
The report claims that the firm failed to withhold a 20% levy on its dividends prior to transferring earnings to Tice and his Jersey-based trust. In response, Tice described the issue as a “technicality,” emphasizing that “overall HMRC received the correct amount of tax due.” He argued the matter was not a significant shortfall but a procedural oversight.
“This is a major scandal which goes to the heart of Richard Tice’s integrity and credibility,” stated a Labour spokesperson. “Reform cannot ignore it. Richard Tice urgently needs to explain whether his business followed the law and paid the full tax it owed.”
Labour had previously requested HMRC to investigate Tice’s financial affairs, citing reports that he had “avoided nearly £600,000 in corporation tax” through his property company. Meanwhile, HMRC remained noncommittal, saying it “neither confirms nor denies investigations” and “cannot comment on identifiable individuals.”
Tice’s company, Quidnet REIT Limited, specializes in property investments. At a press conference in Westminster, he asserted that the firm “was a UK company paying UK tax in accordance with UK laws,” and questioned the necessity of paying more than legally required. “How many friends of yours would voluntarily choose to pay more tax than they are legally obliged to do?” he challenged journalists.
“The idea that morally, we have got to pay the maximum tax we possibly can—therein lies the road to ruin for the UK as an economy,” Tice remarked, suggesting that the tax discrepancy was a matter of interpretation rather than a breach.
Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, acknowledged the situation as “a minor administrative error” but dismissed it as “a non story.” She explained that any shortfall in the company’s tax payments would have been compensated by Tice personally through income tax, implying HMRC effectively “netted off” the difference.
On X, Tice further clarified that the Sunday Times’s reporting was “effectively complaining I paid too much tax rather than [my] company pay some tax on my behalf.” This underscores his view that the issue revolves around the distribution of tax liability rather than an outright evasion.
