Ukip
leader, who has previously spoken out against tax evasion, admits he set up
offshore trust fund on Isle of Man
guardian.co.uk,
Press Association, Friday 21 June 2013
Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, set up the Farage Family Educational Trust 1654 on the Isle of Man. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod |
The Ukip
leader has admitted he made a mistake by setting up a trust fund in an offshore
tax haven.
Nigel Farage, who has previously spoken out against tax evaders in a speech to the
European parliament, admitted he paid an adviser to set up the Farage Family
Educational Trust 1654 on the Isle of Man, the Daily Mirror said.
The
newspaper said Farage insisted he had not personally benefited from the
account, and that he claimed he had ended up out of pocket.
The MEP
told the Mirror: "My financial advisers recommended I did it, to have a
trust really for inheritance purposes and I took the advice and I set it up. It
was a mistake. I was a completely unsuitable person for it. I am not blaming
them, it was my fault. It's a vehicle that you chuck things in through your
life that you don't need and you build up a trust fund for your children or
grandchildren.
"It
was called an educational trust and could have been used for grandchildren's
schools fees, things like that. It was a mistake for three reasons. Firstly,
I'm not rich enough to need one and I am never going to be. Secondly, frankly,
the world has changed. Things that we thought were absolutely fair practice 10
years, 20 years ago, 30 years ago aren't any more. Thirdly, it was a mistake
because it cost me money. I sent a cheque off to set it up."
The
newspaper said Farage transferred his shareholding in a company, Farage
Limited, to the Farage Family Educational Trust, based in Douglas, the capital
of the Isle of Man. This meant the trust owned 33% of Farage Limited, later
rising to 50%, the Mirror said.
Farage denied
receiving dividends from the company.
Companies
House documents reveal the offshore trust remained a shareholder of Farage
Limited until 2011, the Mirror said.
The Ukip
leader insisted he shut it down in 2007 or 2008, saying: "I sent a cheque
off to set it up, out of my own taxed income, and basically just through
administration fees that money disappeared."
Offshore Secrets |
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