Reform leader under pressure over £895,000 constituency property bought by partner
Labour has asked Nigel Farage to confirm whether he has any financial interest in his constituency home, after it emerged that his partner bought the house – saving him a £44,000 tax bill.
The Reform UK leader has come under scrutiny over the property in Clacton, Essex, after saying four times earlier this year that he had bought a house there.
However, the Guardian revealed in May that the £895,000 house had in fact been bought by his partner, Laure Ferrari, with Farage saying his name did not appear on the deeds “for security reasons”. If he had made the purchase, he would have been liable for 10% stamp duty rather than 5% because it was an additional property.
Since then, tax experts have pointed out that if Farage had any beneficial ownership in the property it could mean a tax liability. Sean Randall, who specialises in stamp duty, said: “Tax follows the beneficial interest in property. In some circumstances, the law recognises that it would be fair to treat someone as owning a beneficial interest even though there is no trust deed. If this applies to Mr Farage, he would be treated as a buyer for stamp duty purposes even though he is not on the title.
