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 tax dispute involving his property company was a “minor administrative error.” The controversy centers on Quidnet REIT Limited, the firm Tice established and operated, which allegedly missed paying £91,000 in tax prior to distributing dividends to him and his Jersey-based trust, as revealed by the Sunday Times.

The newspaper reported that the company failed to withhold a 20% tax charge on its profits before funneling them to Tice. In response, Tice labeled the oversight a “technicality,” arguing that HMRC ultimately collected the correct tax amount. His party’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, echoed this, describing it as a “non story” and asserting that the tax shortfall was offset by Tice’s personal income tax payments.

“We neither confirm nor deny investigations and we cannot comment on identifiable individuals,” said a HMRC spokesperson.

Labour, however, dismissed the explanation as insufficient, calling the issue a “major scandal” that challenges Tice’s “integrity and credibility.” A Labour representative emphasized the need for Tice to clarify if his business adhered to legal tax obligations, noting that the party had previously requested an HMRC probe into his financial affairs.

Last month, Labour’s chair Anna Turley initiated an inquiry after the Sunday Times highlighted Tice’s property company’s potential £600,000 corporation tax avoidance. At a Westminster press conference, Tice argued that Quidnet REIT Ltd was a “UK company paying UK tax in accordance with UK laws,” stressing that there was no legal requirement to pay the highest possible tax.

“How many friends of yours would voluntarily choose to pay more tax than they are legally obliged to do?” Tice asked journalists during the event.

He also criticized the notion of paying maximum taxes as a moral imperative, suggesting it could harm the UK’s economic stability. “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,” he said.