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Richard Tice’s property investment company broke the law after failing to pay £91,000 in tax

ukfactcheck.com 14 April 2026 at 11:40 View original article →
62/100
Verdict Mixed Mixed (Partly Verified; Some Unverified; No conclusively False high-priority claims established)

The article’s core technical premise—that UK REIT Property Income Distributions (PIDs) are generally subject to 20% withholding which the REIT must deduct and pay to HMRC—is strongly supported by HMRC guidance and major professional tax sources.

✓ 3 checks out ✕ 0 disputed ? 9 unverified
☰ Full analysis The complete summary ⌄

The article’s core technical premise—that UK REIT Property Income Distributions (PIDs) are generally subject to 20% withholding which the REIT must deduct and pay to HMRC—is strongly supported by HMRC guidance and major professional tax sources. However, the article’s specific allegations about Quidnet REIT Ltd (amounts, timing, whether the withholding was in fact not operated, and whether that constitutes ‘broke the law’) are only partially corroborated using publicly accessible, up-to-date sources. The strongest corroboration comes from Tax Policy Associates (Dan Neidle) analysis relying on company filings, but direct primary evidence (e.g., HMRC determinations, tribunal/court findings, or company acknowledgement in statutory accounts) is not located within this research run. Several political/role assertions about Richard Tice (e.g., MP for Boston and Skegness; deputy leader of Reform UK) are time-sensitive and were not verified here with authoritative primary sources, so they are treated as unverified.

What checked out (3)
  • UK REIT Property Income Distributions (PIDs) are generally subject to withholding tax at the basic rate (20%), which the REIT deducts and accounts for to HMRC.
  • HMRC guidance describes an example where, for a PID of £1 per share, the shareholder receives £0.80 and £0.20 is paid over to HMRC (illustrative mechanics of withholding).
  • Professional tax sources state that PIDs are subject to 20% withholding tax (with some exemptions/reliefs in certain cases), consistent with HMRC guidance.
? Unverified claims 9 claims ⌄
  • Quidnet REIT Ltd failed to apply the legally required 20% withholding tax on dividends/profits distributed to Richard Tice and a Jersey-registered offshore trust.
  • The amount of missing/uncounted withholding tax attributable to Quidnet’s distributions is ‘more than £91,000’ (or approximately £91,200).
  • Quidnet failed to apply withholding tax on multiple occasions between 2020 and 2021 (including specific dividend events described as ~£680,000; ~£290,000; and a third mixed cash/scrip payment).
  • Quidnet REIT Ltd ‘has been found to have broken tax rules’ (i.e., that there is an authoritative determination/decision already made by HMRC, a court, or a tribunal).
  • HMRC ‘now has the power to recover the unpaid tax and issue penalties’ in this specific case (as applied to Quidnet’s alleged non-withholding), as opposed to HMRC’s general powers in principle.
  • Richard Tice dismissed the issue as a ‘technicality’ and argued he later paid tax personally on the income (exact quote and context not verified from a primary record in this research).
  • Richard Tice is (as of April 2026) MP for Boston and Skegness.
  • Richard Tice is (as of April 2026) deputy leader of Reform UK.
  • The article’s characterisation that earlier scrutiny showed Quidnet ‘avoided significant corporation tax’ via a complex offshore structure (and that experts labelled it aggressive, though technically legal) as a settled finding.
⌕ Sources & how we checked Search journal, source grades, confidence ⌄
Confidence

Medium — High confidence in the general REIT PID withholding framework (supported by HMRC manuals and multiple professional sources). Only medium-to-low confidence on the article’s specific allegations (non-withholding by Quidnet, exact amounts, and ‘has been found’/‘broke the law’) because corroboration is currently driven mainly by a detailed secondary analysis rather than an identifiable primary adjudication or direct, inspected statutory evidence in this research run.

Search journal

Quidnet REIT Ltd withholding tax Richard Tice 2020 2021 £91,200

Sunday Times Gabriel Pogrund Quidnet REIT £91,000 withholding tax April 2026

HMRC REIT property income distribution withholding tax 20% deduct basic rate

United Kingdom REIT PID withholding tax 20% PwC

Quidnet REIT Ltd interim report jun 2020 Richard Tice CEO

Article metrics

Emotion 10% · Reading grade 13.0 · 989 words

≡ The article we checked Full text as retrieved ⌄
# Richard Tice’s property investment company broke the law after failing to pay £91,000 in tax - UK Fact Check Politics [Fact Checker]( Us]( [Sign In]( Free]( [Fact Checker]( Us]( * [Politics]( * [NHS]( * [Elections]( * [Middle East]( * [Israel-Gaza]( * [Fact Checking News]( * [Editorial]( * [World]( * [UK]( [UK FACT CHECK POLITICS]( Tuesday, April 14, 2026 [# UK FACT CHECK POLITICS]( Independent reporting, transparently verified by objective AI fact-checking ##### Menu ###### Categories * [Politics]( * [NHS]( * [Elections]( * [Middle East]( * [Israel-Gaza]( * [Fact Checking News]( * [Editorial]( * [World]( * [UK]( ###### Latest * [Fact Checker]( * [Support Us]( [Support Us]( Search Articles ###### About * [About / Masthead]( * [Complaints]( * [Terms & Conditions]( * [Privacy Policy]( * [Editorial Standards]( * [Our Fact-Checking]( * [Corrections & Updates]( * [Paid Partners]( * [Sitemap]( ###### Get Involved * [Write for Us]( * [Contact Us]( ###### Account * [Sign In]( * [Join Free]( ###### Follow Us [Follow UK Fact Check on Instagram]( UK Fact Check on Facebook]( View all results ###### Popular Categories [Politics]( East]( Checking News]( 1. [Home]( 2. [Politics]( 3. Richard Tice’s property investment company broke the law after failing to pay £91,000 in tax # Richard Tice’s property investment company broke the law after failing to pay £91,000 in tax 14:30 on 13/04/26 |[Rustam Wahab]( []( "Share on Telegram")[]( "Share on Twitter/X")[]( "Share on Facebook")[]( "Share on LinkedIn") ## Listen to Article Your browser does not support the audio element. A company founded and run by Richard Tice has been found to have broken tax rules after failing to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax on dividends paid to him and an offshore trust. Quidnet REIT Ltd did not apply a legally required 20 percent withholding tax before distributing profits to Tice and a trust registered in Jersey. As a result, more than £91,000 that should have gone directly to HMRC was not paid at the time. Instead, the money remained tied up in dividends and shares benefiting Tice and his offshore structure. Tice, now deputy leader of Reform UK and MP for Boston and Skegness, dismissed the issue as a “technicality”, arguing that he later paid tax personally on the income. But tax experts say that defence does not hold up. The law is clear. Companies are required to deduct and pay the tax upfront when dividends are issued. It is not optional, and it is not something that can simply be corrected later on an individual tax return. Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates said the rules are well understood across the property sector and described the failure as careless. He made clear that neither individuals nor companies get to decide when tax is paid. The obligation is set in law. At the time, Quidnet was operating as a Real Estate Investment Trust, a structure designed to give tax advantages to property investors. While REITs avoid corporation tax on rental profits, they must deduct basic rate tax from dividends paid to individuals and trusts. Quidnet failed to do this on multiple occasions between 2020 and 2021. In one case, the company issued more than £680,000 in dividends as shares without deducting the tax that should have been paid. That meant thousands of pounds that should have gone to the public purse instead boosted shareholdings. A second dividend of nearly £290,000 was again issued without the required deduction, giving Tice and his trust a larger payout than they were legally entitled to receive after tax. A third payment, partly in cash and partly in shares, also failed to apply the withholding tax. Altogether, the missing tax adds up to around £91,200. This is not a minor administrative slip. The company had a clear legal duty to deduct that tax before making payments. Whether Tice later paid income tax himself is irrelevant to that obligation. HMRC now has the power to recover the unpaid tax and issue penalties. The case also raises serious questions about double standards. Tice has previously attacked other politicians over tax issues, including Angela Rayner, saying her position was “morally completely indefensible” and suggesting she should resign. Yet when it comes to his own financial affairs, the same standards appear not to apply. The revelations come after earlier scrutiny of Quidnet’s tax arrangements, which showed the company avoided significant corporation tax while using a complex structure involving offshore entities. While technically legal, experts described the approach as aggressive tax planning. Tice himself has openly said that people should aim to pay as little tax as possible. But for many, this case reinforces a wider pattern. Wealthy individuals and corporations are able to benefit from complex financial structures and loopholes, while ordinary people are expected to pay their taxes in full and on time. The issue is not just about one company or one politician. It is about a system that too often allows those at the top to play by a different set of rules. ## Join the Discussion Have something to say? Join the conversation! Sign in to share your thoughts and engage with other readers. [Sign In]( Account]( No comments yet Be the first to share your thoughts on this article! ## Related [ Politics ### Fried foods such as chicken nuggets and fish and chips are set to be removed from school menus as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity. 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