Richard Tice Remarks in Britain Trigger Labour Demand for HMRC Probe
Reform UK deputy leader richard tice has said Britons should seek to pay the minimum tax legally possible, remarks that followed a newspaper investigation and prompted the Labour Party to ask HMRC to open an inquiry into his company’s tax arrangements.
Richard Tice Defends His Position and Dismisses Coverage
At a press conference, Richard Tice rejected the suggestion that people should “pay the absolute maximum tax possible” and said he would encourage everyone to pay as little tax as legally allowed. He characterised the newspaper coverage as an attempt to impose a new moral standard that would force people to volunteer extra payments beyond their legal obligations.
Tice pointed to a journalist’s public comment that restated the paper’s reporting when arguing that he had paid the necessary tax under the terms of the scheme. He also said the real estate investment trust, or Reit, used by his property company was a UK company paying UK tax in line with the law, and he denied that Reit arrangements were specialist tools reserved for only the wealthy.
Allegations Over Reit Use and Labour’s Call for Investigation
A Sunday Times story detailed a scheme it said had helped Quidnet Reit Ltd, a property company linked to Tice, avoid nearly £600, 000 in corporation tax by using Reit status. The reporting said the status provided a grace period in which firms were exempt from corporation tax and instead issued earnings to shareholders, who would be taxed individually.
The paper said Quidnet did not meet the technical tests for Reit status at the time and had gained it through what it described as a legal quirk. It also set out that dividends were channeled into structures including an offshore trust and a string of dormant businesses that reduced exposure to tax. In response to the coverage, Labour chair Anna Turley wrote to HMRC, calling the case “deeply troubling” and urging the tax authority to investigate whether the company and linked entities had paid all the tax owed.
Facts Confirmed, Complexities Noted and Open Questions
The reporting and Tice’s remarks make a distinction between tax avoidance — lawful arrangements designed to minimise liabilities — and tax evasion, which is a criminal offence. A follow-up public comment by the journalist who covered the story restated that while there was no apparent criminal underpayment, the Reit arrangement was a complex and unusual way to reduce the amount owed.
Labour’s request for an HMRC probe frames the issue as needing further official scrutiny. There is now a clear procedural path for the tax authority to assess the technical tests for Reit status, the flow of dividends, and whether any rules were improperly applied. At the same time, Tice has pushed back by highlighting what he describes as inconsistent treatment of other companies, including correspondence he has sent about a company linked to the Labour Party.
Next Steps and What to Watch
HMRC’s response and any formal decision will determine whether questions raised by the newspaper story move beyond political dispute into an administrative or legal review. For now, key facts remain: the Sunday Times set out claims about the use of Reit status and a monetary figure for foregone corporation tax, richard tice has defended the legality of the arrangements and argued against a moral obligation to pay more than the law requires, and Labour has called for urgency in an inquiry. The outcome of any investigation will clarify whether the arrangements were within the intended rules for Reits or if further action is warranted.
