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

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice faces allegations that his property investment firm failed to pay required taxes on dividends, potentially amounting to nearly £100,000. Tice has denied wrongdoing, calling the claims a 'smear', while Labour and Liberal Democrats have called for explanations.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Apr 12–19, 2026 Published Aug 13

Coverage Comparison

The Guardian, citing a Sunday Times investigation, reported two sets of allegations against Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK. The first focuses on four shell companies that allegedly paid no corporation tax between 2020 and 2022, while the second centers on Quidnet REIT Ltd, which reportedly failed to pay a required withholding tax on dividends. Both reports are based on the Sunday Times' findings and quote Tice's responses on X (formerly Twitter).

Key Claims

Corporation tax avoidance: According to the Sunday Times via The Guardian, Tice ran four shell companies that allegedly paid no tax on profits between 2020 and 2022. These companies reportedly received dividends from Tice's property investment firm and passed the money to their parent company. Between March 2020 and May 2022, Tisun Investments Ltd transferred £1,113,000 to Reform UK, as reported by the Sunday Times.
Withholding tax failure: The Guardian also reported that Quidnet REIT Ltd, a property investment company founded and run by Tice, did not pay a required 20% withholding tax on dividends before channelling profits to Tice and his offshore trust. Tice owned more than 90% of Quidnet personally and through various entities, according to the Sunday Times.
Tice's response: In a statement on X, Tice said: "A long career with multiple businesses is bound to feature some errors. 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." He accused the Sunday Times of running a "smear campaign" in collaboration with the Labour party.
Alleged excess payments: Tice is said to have received at least £91,000 in excess payments as a result of the alleged tax avoidance, according to the Sunday Times. Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates, whose analysis was cited by the newspaper, suggested the total tax owed could be about £120,000.

Perspectives

Reform UK/Tice's perspective: Tice maintains that he has paid all taxes due, stating: "I have paid all tax at the highest rate on all dividends received. HMRC has been paid in full." He attributes any discrepancies to errors over a long career and said he would correct them if needed. He also dismissed the allegations as a "smear" and a "technicality."

Labour's perspective: Labour party chair Anna Turley responded sharply, saying: "Richard Tice's credibility is in tatters and Nigel Farage needs to urgently explain why he remains Reform's deputy leader." She noted that Tice "aggressively attacked the Sunday Times for raising questions about his tax affairs, but he now admits that he may not have paid the taxes he owes."

Liberal Democrats' perspective: The Guardian's report also included comment from Liberal Democrat leader (not named in the extract), who described the claims as "morally completely indefensible" and called for further scrutiny.

Context and Analysis

The allegations have emerged as Tice holds a prominent role in Reform UK, which has been gaining ground in opinion polls. The timing of the report, just before a general election, has led to accusations of political motivation from Tice. However, the detailed nature of the allegations, based on corporate records and tax law, suggests a thorough investigation by the Sunday Times.

Tax experts note that while real estate investment trusts (REITs) are exempt from corporation tax, they have strict obligations to withhold tax on dividends paid to certain shareholders. Failure to do so can constitute a breach of tax law. The exact amount of tax owed, if any, remains a matter of dispute pending HMRC review or investigation.

As of this writing, no official statement from HMRC has been reported, and Tice has not publicly provided evidence to counter the specific claims beyond his general denials and assertions of compliance.

How this outlet told it

The Guardian — World as of Apr 19, 2026, 9:30 AM UTC

Framing: Allegations of tax avoidance — Critical

Facts Included:

Richard Tice allegedly failed to pay almost £100,000 in corporation tax
Tice ran four shell companies that allegedly did not pay any tax on profits between 2020 and 2022
Tisun Investments Ltd transferred £1,113,000 to Reform UK between March 2020 and May 2022
Tice accused the Sunday Times of collaborating with the Labour party in a 'smear campaign'

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Apr 12, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC

Framing: Allegations of tax law breaking — Critical

Facts Included:

Richard Tice's company allegedly broke the law by failing to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax
Tice received at least £91,000 in excess payments
Quidnet REIT Ltd did not pay a required 20% levy on the dividends
Tice owned more than 90% of Quidnet personally and through various on and offshore entities

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimRichard Tice allegedly failed to pay almost £100,000 in corporation tax to the benefit of his investment company.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Apr 19, 2026, 9:30 AM UTC
ClaimTice ran four shell companies that allegedly did not pay any tax on profits between 2020 and 2022.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Apr 19, 2026, 9:30 AM UTC
ClaimTisun Investments Ltd transferred £1,113,000 to Reform UK between March 2020 and May 2022.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Apr 19, 2026, 9:30 AM UTC
ClaimQuidnet REIT Ltd did not pay a required 20% levy on the dividends.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Apr 12, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimTice owned more than 90% of Quidnet personally and through various on and offshore entities.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Apr 12, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimTice received at least £91,000 in excess payments as a result of the alleged tax avoidance.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Apr 12, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe company used a rare legal status known as a real estate investment trust (Reit).	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Apr 12, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimTice accused the Sunday Times of collaborating with the Labour party in a 'smear campaign'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of Apr 19, 2026, 9:30 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: The Guardian — World 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-13