Tax avoidance is different to tax evasion, which is a criminal offence.
The newspaper claimed, external Tice had avoided paying corporation tax on the company’s “multimillion-pound profits for most of 2018 to 2021” through gaining “rare legal status” for it as a real estate investment trust (Reit).
The status gives firms a grace period in which they are exempt from corporation tax, according to the paper, and instead issue a portion of the company’s earnings to shareholders who are taxed individually.
Tice reportedly channelled these dividends into structures including an offshore trust and “a string of dormant businesses”, which “reduced his exposure to tax”.
The paper also claimed Quidnet “did not pass the technical tests for Reit status at the time and never did”, and had gained the status instead through a “legal quirk”.
In a letter to HMRC on Sunday – which oversees firms with Reit status – Labour chair Turley said “several important questions remain unanswered”.
She posed a range of questions related both to Quidnet and HMRC’s dealings with the firm, including whether Tice “and companies linked to him have paid all the tax they owe”.