The Conservatives have asked HMRC to investigate whether Nigel Farage should have paid tax on the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. The party chair, Kevin Hollinrake, wrote to the tax authorities questioning whether it was a payment to compensate him for running to be an MP.
Farage has said the gift was purely personal and unconditional, with a document drawn up stating it was given with no expectation in return. He has also previously said the payment was for his personal security costs and a reward for campaigning for Brexit, adding that he could “spend it on Ferraris” if he wanted. Over the weekend he declared it was “totally undeclarable in every single way”.
“Tories ask HMRC to probe Nigel Farage's £5m gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne”
However, the Guardian reported this month that three sources had said Farage informed senior Reform UK figures that he would require compensation of £1m per year to offset his loss of earnings if he were to run for office. A Reform spokesperson said at the time that the report was “fake and wholly incorrect”. Lawyers for Harborne said he “expected nothing in return” and “did not envisage Mr Farage returning to politics”.
In light of that reporting, Hollinrake wrote to HMRC. “If those reports are accurate, they raise legitimate questions as to whether the payment was truly a personal gift, or whether it was connected to Mr Farage resuming the leadership of Reform UK and standing for election to parliament,” he said.
“If the payment was connected to discussions about Mr Farage returning as leader of Reform UK, and standing for parliament with a view to becoming a member of parliament, there would appear to be a serious question as to whether it should properly be characterised as income rather than a gift.”
Hollinrake added that he believed it “imperative that HMRC examines whether the payment falls within the ‘disguised remuneration’ regime or otherwise constitutes taxable earnings”. The tax treatment, he said, “may be materially different from that applicable to a genuine personal gift”.
HMRC has not yet commented on the request, but the investigation could have significant implications for Farage’s finances and his political future.