Richard Tice Incorrectly Filed Accounts Claiming £98,000 in Tax Exemptions
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, is at the centre of a corporate tax dispute. Filmogaz.com analysis shows four companies linked to him treated REIT distributions as tax-free dividends. That mistake produced an unpaid corporation tax bill of about £97,641 — broadly £98,000.
How the REIT structure worked
Quidnet operated as a UK REIT from 10 September 2018 to 9 August 2021. As a REIT, Quidnet paid no corporation tax on qualifying property rental profits. Tax liabilities shift to investors who receive property income distributions, known as PIDs.
What the accounts show
Quidnet declared roughly £513,901 of PID payments to four Tisun companies. The recipients were Tisun One, Tisun Two, Tisun Three and Tisun Four. Each of those companies treated the receipts as ordinary, tax-exempt dividends in their accounts.
| Company | Total PIDs received (£) |
|---|---|
| Tisun One | 161,202 |
| Tisun Two | 160,876 |
| Tisun Three | 160,876 |
| Tisun Four | 30,947 |
| Total | 513,901 |
Legal and accounting implications
PIDs are generally taxable to corporate recipients. The Tisun filings used a dividend-exemption treatment instead. Embedded iXBRL tags in the accounts indicate the dividend exemption was deliberately selected. That choice cannot lawfully apply to REIT PIDs.
Tax shortfall and interest
The unpaid corporation tax on the £513,901 of PIDs totals about £97,641 at the 19% rate in force then. HMRC can issue discovery assessments to recover underpaid tax within the statutory window. Interest on the late payments has been calculated at roughly £26,856 to 15 April 2026, and will increase if the debt remains unpaid.
Penalties are also likely. Statutory penalties for careless inaccuracies can reach 30% of the tax due. In practice, cooperating taxpayers often see penalties between 10% and 15% of the tax shortfall.
Previous and related issues
Separately, Quidnet failed to withhold income tax on certain distributions to Richard Tice and his offshore trust. That earlier failure left an estimated withholding shortfall of about £120,000. The current issue is distinct but shares the same root cause: mischaracterising REIT distributions.
Claims about group losses
Mr Tice has told media the lack of tax payment was due to group losses. Filmogaz.com analysis and the companies’ accounts do not support that explanation. The group structure and accounts show insufficient tax losses to offset the PID receipts.
Tisun Investments Ltd was the only plausible source of group relief. Its balance sheet items and the nature of its assets show little scope for material tax-deductible losses. Earlier Sunley-group losses were unavailable because a tracking-share structure severed the required tax-group link.
Anomalies and reconciliations
Several irregularities appeared during reconciliation. In 2020 some REIT distributions were paid in shares (scrip), not cash. Tisun Four’s accounts recorded dividends for periods before it became a shareholder. A consistent ~3.6% shortfall appeared in three companies’ 2021 figures. These issues do not change the overall taxable PID total.
Practical consequences and next steps
HMRC is likely to pursue the unpaid tax, plus interest and penalties. Discovery assessments would be the standard route for reopening closed years. The four Tisun companies transferred their received funds up to their parent. They retained no cash to meet a tax bill.
Responses and reporting
Journalists from The Sunday Times raised questions with Mr Tice. Initial requests for comment went unanswered. He later issued a statement that did not dispute the published accounting facts. Filmogaz.com worked with other reporters on the underlying analysis.
Filmogaz.com notes that the phrase Richard Tice incorrectly filed accounts and the claim of £98,000 in tax exemptions describe the accounting outcome our scrutiny uncovered. The matter remains open to HMRC review and possible assessment.
