Richard Tice’s firm alleged to have broken law by failing to pay tax

Richard Tice’s company has been accused of breaking the law by allegedly failing to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax on dividends that were paid to him and his offshore trust.Reform UK’s multimillionaire deputy leader is alleged to have received at least £91,000 in excess payments as a result, the Sunday Times reported. Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates – whose analysis was cited by the newspaper – said that further analysis suggested that the total in tax that should have been paid by Tice’s company was about £120,000.The MP for Boston and Skegness, and business, trade and energy spokesperson for Nigel Farage’s party, posted on X that “overall, HMRC received the correct amount of tax due” and described the claims as a “smear”.Quidnet REIT Ltd, the property investment company Tice founded, owned and ran as chief executive, did not pay a required 20% levy on the dividends, known as a “withholding tax”, before channelling profits to Tice and his trust registered in Jersey, the Sunday Times said.Tice suggested the failure amounted to a “technicality” and appeared to suggest it did not matter as he ultimately paid income tax on the dividends he received, the newspaper said. It quoted Tice saying: “I have paid all tax at the highest rate on all dividends received. HMRC has been paid in full.”Tice owned more than 90% of Quidnet personally and through various on and offshore entities he controlled, the Sunday Times wrote. Tice said he had received “professional accountancy advice” and the revelations were “hardly a story”.According to the paper, Tice’s property company used a rare legal status known as a real estate investment trust (Reit). Reits do not have to pay corporation tax, but are required to deduct a given proportion of dividends destined for certain shareholders before making payments. This is known as withholding tax and it is charged at 20%, the basic rate of income tax.The company’s legal obligations were not affected by the amount of tax Tice or his trust did or did not subsequently pay on the dividends, Neidle wrote. However, much either paid, the company was, and was still, required to pay its original amount.Responding to the allegation on X, Tice wrote: “Desperate still to smear me & Reform, Sunday Times has again spent weeks pouring [sic] over my company accounts with Labour-supporting tax accountant. All that effort has revealed overall HMRC received the correct amount of tax due. Journo now effectively complaining I paid too much tax rather than company pay some tax on my behalf! All due to complex tax technicality around dividends to certain shareholder classes in REITs.”Asked to comment on the £120,000 figure alleged by Tax Policy Associates, a Reform UK spokesperson said: “Richard has paid all tax due.”The accusation follows allegations in March that Tice had “avoided nearly £600,000 in corporation tax” through his property company.Responding to the new claim, Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour party, said: “This is a major scandal for Richard Tice, Nigel Farage and Reform UK. Tice claimed last month that he had done nothing wrong in using complex structures to minimise his business’s tax liability. But it is now alleged that his business did not just avoid tax, it broke the law.“Tice must now urgently explain why his business did not pay the tax that appears to have been owed, pay it back and face the consequences. His credibility is shot and his integrity is in serious question.”The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, posted on X: “Morally completely indefensible. Farage should sack Richard Tice immediately.”