Brexiter Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company Ineos is reportedly working with PricewaterhouseCoopers to reduce bill
Britain’s richest man, the Brexit supporter Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and two of his key lieutenants at chemicals firm Ineos have reportedly been planning to save up to £4bn in tax after moving to Monaco.
The company, which is valued at about £35bn, is working with tax experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to create a new structure for the business to dramatically reduce the tax paid on its global revenues, according to the Sunday Times.
Ratcliffe, who has lobbied to weaken green taxes, owns 60% of Ineos, which made profits of more than £2.2bn last year and employs 18,500 people. His top two lieutenants at Ineos, Andy Currie and John Reece, each own 20% of the company worth £7bn and were also reported to be moving to Monaco and involved in the tax avoidance plan.
It emerged last year that Ratcliffe, the founder and chief executive of Ineos, was preparing to move to the tax-free principality on the Côte d’Azur, but the latest reports indicate exactly how much the three could save – putting the minimum at £440m.
Ratcliffe’s cash-saving shift abroad comes despite vocal support for Brexit in the run-up to the referendum in 2016 when he said: “Never forget that we have a decent set of cards.”
The details of his plans have emerged as the Brexiter James Dyson moves his business base to Singapore. PwC, which was at the heart of the Luxleaks scandal that revealed complex tax avoidance schemes created for clients including Dyson and the drugs firm Shire, has faced criticism for constructing “labyrinthine” tax avoidance structures that have saved clients millions of pounds in saved revenues.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Vince Cable, described Ratcliffe’s move as “deeply cynical”.
“The idea we should be dishing out knighthoods to people who have no commitment to this country is rather shameful,” he told the Sunday Times.
Courtesy of theguardian.com
