Nigel Farage’s £5m undeclared gift may leave Reform ‘facing a £3m HMRC bill’

Nigel Farage’s undeclared £5million gift from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne has only caused him trouble and now it seems as though matters will get worse for the Reform UK leader.

It’s been revealed that Reform could be left facing a £3million tax bill, after Farage decided to accept the money.

Farage was already facing a Standards Committee investigation into the £5million gift, before he decided to pre-empt its findings and quit as an MP, only to confirm he would be re-standing in the same seat so that the ‘people can be his judge.’

He claimed that he was given the money for his security and also as a reward for Brexit, however the Guardian reports that Farage told senior figures in Reform UK he would need “a million a year” to cover lost earnings if he stood for parliament in the 2024 general election.

It reports: “Sources say the discussion took place in March 2024 – shortly before the undeclared gift was made by Christopher Harborne on 5 April, according to the Thailand-based crypto billionaire’s lawyers.

“At that time Farage believed he would be forced to give up his lucrative GB News presenting role, which then paid him more than £1m a year.”

And now according to Tax Policy Associates (TPA), Reform may owe tax on the gift, if the Guardian story holds true.

TPA claims that while genuine gifts are tax free, should the Guardian’s claims be proven beyond any doubt, then the “disguised remuneration” rules would probably apply, resulting in about £3m of PAYE and National Insurance liabilities which would, in the first instance, fall on Reform 2025 Ltd rather than on Mr Farage.

TPA goes on to state: “If the gift was connected with the March discussions reported by the Guardian, and was made to compensate Mr Farage for lost earnings if he resumed the leadership of Reform, then the gift is probably taxable. The significant new element is the report that senior Reform figures were involved in discussions about compensating Mr Farage for returning as leader.”