Thread: Ukip leader Lord Pearson avoided capital gains tax on sale of home

UKIP leader Lord Pearson claimed £100,000 allowances for £3.7m London home - Telegraph

Lord Pearson, the new leader of Ukip, legally avoided a £275,000 capital gains tax bill by telling HM Revenue and Customs that his parliamentary “second home” was his “principal private residence”.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch claimed about £100,000 in publicly-funded allowances between 2001 and 2007 to cover the cost of staying at the house in central London.

Peers can claim the £174-a-night “overnight subsistence” allowance while staying at a second home or hotel in the capital “for the purpose of attending” the Lords.

He was able to claim the money because he told Parliament that his 12,000-acre estate in Perthshire was his “main home”. However, when he sold the London house for almost £3.7 million in June 2007, he told HMRC that the property was his “principal private residence”.
This meant that he did not pay capital gains tax of 40 per cent on the profits from the sale. He said that his accountant had worked out that he would have faced a tax bill for about £275,000 had he told HMRC that the property was his second home.
“In common with usual practice, my principal residence for tax purposes has always been the house which I thought I was most likely to sell,” he said. “That is normal.”

He added: “It would have been madness not to do this basic, simple, legal thing. Why should I lose out on this as well?”
Last week, Bill Cockburn, the chairman of the body that is reviewing Lords expenses, said: “Any property that is getting taxpayer support should be declared for tax purposes to HMRC.

“If you are getting taxpayer assistance, that genuinely is your second property.”

This is starting to look serious.

It's a pretty good ambush.

The 100k over 7 years is no big deal. That's hardly raping the expenses.

He's certainly been very careful to make sure he minimises his tax. The problem is he looks like he is having his cake and eating it, by minimising his tax, while maximising his take from the taxpayer!

Not really great for UKIP, given the public mood on this sort of thing.

Originally Posted by mkpdavies

It's a pretty good ambush.

The 100k over 7 years is no big deal. That's hardly raping the expenses.

He's certainly been very careful to make sure he minimises his tax. The problem is he looks like he is having his cake and eating it, by minimising his tax, while maximising his take from the taxpayer!

Not really great for UKIP, given the public mood on this sort of thing.

Fiddling expenses is no big deal, £100k is no big deal, ranting against muslims is no big deal, tax avoidance is no big deal, bribes to third world bannana republics is no big deal, secret deals with the tories behind the backs of members is no big deal...

Lord Pearson is a bit like a toxic asset carefully handed from the Conservative Party to the heart of UKIP where he can carefully poison the whole organisation.

In the space of a four days his reputation has been damaged effectively beyond repair and it taints the whole of UKIP. You can bet that what has been exposed so far will be mentioned time and time again by the mainstream media.

This is fraud, clear and simple.

He should be thrown in jail

You would have thought that this information, if true, would have been widely known by the upper crust of the UKIP, makes me wonder if they are stupid or are purposefully trying to destroy their own party.

Originally Posted by prober

It was totally predictable that as soon as he was elected the press would investigate his expenses . Why didnt he have a credible response already prepared for the INEVITABLE ambush !!!!!! ????

He has a response - it was all within the rules old chap - no do go away you irritating common oik.

Originally Posted by prober

It was totally predictable that as soon as he was elected the press would investigate his expenses . Why didnt he have a credible response already prepared for the INEVITABLE ambush !!!!!! ????

Because he became leader to do his job, not to entertain the imbeciles that read the Guardian.