All posts - Tax Policy Associates

Photo of Nigel Farage in the House of Commons

May 20, 2026 Investigations

Nigel Farage probably doesn’t owe tax on his £5m gift

Christopher Harborne, a British-Thai billionaire, gave Nigel Farage £5m in 2024. Genuine gifts are usually tax-free. However, Mr Farage has recently described the £5m as a “reward” for campaigning for Brexit. That raises some complex tax issues, and HMRC may investigate the circumstances of the payment. But, on the facts currently available, our conclusion is […]

Iain Stamp claiming to have made $600m of fraudulent US tax refund claims

May 17, 2026 Investigations

The British fugitive, his $600m US tax fraud, and its 3,000 victims

Iain Clifford Stamp told his followers the IRS owed them millions. Not because they had paid US tax, or because they had US investments. But because they had once signed mortgages, loans and credit-card agreements here in the UK. Stamp says his organisation filed claims for 3,000 people, worth $600 million. The IRS froze the […]

Angela Rayner

May 14, 2026 Analysis

Why did HMRC not charge Angela Rayner a penalty?

UPDATED 5pm: We have now spoken to Graham Aaronson KC, who advised Angela Rayner. He says that HMRC’s decision is explained by facts not apparent from Sir Laurie Magnus’s report. We have reflected his account below. But Ms Rayner’s team is not releasing the underlying documents, and we cannot accept the word of one party […]

May 14, 2026 Investigations

Liberty Rock’s claim that a magic cheque can pay your tax

A business called Liberty Rock is marketing a bizarre tax “solution”: supposedly paying your tax by sending HMRC a “magic cheque” which claims to be a bill of exchange. HMRC has issued a “tax fraud” warning about these schemes. We agree: this looks like fraud. We are publishing full details of the Liberty Rock scheme, […]

Lee Valley marina

May 11, 2026 Investigations

Zack Polanski’s boat: if his “home”, he failed to pay council tax. If only there “occasionally”, he broke electoral law.

Zack Polanski and his partner lived on a boat for three years, and described it as their “amazing home”. Mr Polanski was registered to vote at a nearby bungalow. If, as seems likely, that was his main residence, then Mr Polanski and his partner should have paid council tax there – but they didn’t. Mr […]

Government revenue relative to 2025

—= UK Advanced economies =< Advanced economies minus US —. United States

—— Germany = France Japan Canada = italy

South Korea

Australia —=——— Spain == Netherlands Poland

20

0, T ; T T ; T 1 1 T 1
1980 1985 1930 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Apr 29, 2026 Analysis

Tax will go up but public services will get worse. This is why.

UK tax as a percentage of GDP is on course to be the highest since 1945. Over the next four years it will increase further. Government spending won’t increase as a percent of GDP over this period; given the ageing population, that means public services for most people are likely to decline. This article looks […]

Apr 18, 2026 Investigations

Richard Tice signed accounts wrongly claiming £98,000 of tax exemptions

Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, used his Quidnet property company’s REIT status to save tax. That meant Quidnet itself paid no corporation tax on its property business – but the quid pro quo was that its corporate shareholders had to pay tax on the dividends they received. They did not. Instead, Mr […]

photo of Richard Tice

Apr 13, 2026 Investigations

The questions Richard Tice isn’t answering

Richard Tice isn’t denying that Quidnet REIT, his property company, failed to pay around £120,000 of tax when it paid dividends to Mr Tice and his offshore trust. He says it doesn’t matter, because he paid tax in full. That’s wrong: Quidnet’s failure to withhold REIT tax was unlawful, and the £120,000 remains due. But […]

photo of Richard Tice

Apr 11, 2026 Investigations

Richard Tice’s property company failed to pay £120,000 in tax

The deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, owns a property company – Quidnet REIT Limited. From 2020 to 2022 it paid around £600,000 of dividends to Mr Tice and his offshore trust. Quidnet was required by law to withhold approximately £120,000 of tax from those dividends and pay it to HMRC. But we believe […]