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Tice, who said Angela Rayner would resign if she had "any moral decency", did not respond to our latest inquiries about his tax affairs or even acknowledge receipt. Nor did his lawyer or Nigel Farage's team.
However, he has now posted a statement saying of his wider affairs: "Naturally I am always happy to put things right and if numbers need rechecking, of course I will pay what is owed - be that more or less."
Where does that leave us?
- Story #1: Tice avoided £600k in corporation tax by classifying his company as a real estate investment trust in unusual circumstances and benefitting from a loophole meaning he did not have to meet technical rules that otherwise applied. Tice accepts this, and said everyone should seek to avoid as much tax as legally possible.
- Story #2: Tice broke the law by failing to pay at least £92k - or, per further analysis by @DanNeidle, £120k - in withholding tax before paying incorrectly large dividends to himself and his off-shore trust in Jersey. He says the dividends he personally received meant he ultimately paid more income tax, meaning HMRC received the money it was owed, or even more. He has not provided any evidence for this or addressed what tax the trust paid. He has dismissed the fact the law was broken - and the accompanying fact that the company still has an unsettled tax bill - as a "technicality". Farage, when asked to evidence Tice's claim that HMRC received equal/more tax, snapped at a reporter and demanded she provide a "lecture" on the nature of real estate investment trusts.
- Story #3: Tice failed to pay ~£100k in corporation tax on dividends deposited in four shell companies he owned and which were part of a group which donated huge sums to Reform. Last month he gave us contradictory stories as to why dividends were not taxed. a) He said they were tax-exempt. (They were not in this case.) b) He said the parent group suffered losses allowing tax bills to be offset. (This is not the case.) He did not respond to further inquiries which we sent yesterday morning.
Overall, the evidence indicates Tice used unusual measures to avoid £600k, and failed to pay up to £220k on tax owed. Per @DanNeidle the underpayments mean the firms are vulnerable to HMRC investigation which could lead to required repayment plus interest and fines.
Gabriel Pogrund@Gabriel_Pogrund
Exclusive: Richard Tice failed to pay £100k in tax, benefiting his investment firm — which then gave big sums to Reform Tice gave contradictory reasons for why four shell companies paid zero tax. @DanNeidle says they flouted "basic" rule, face HMRC probe thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
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