Another tale of greed, Alan Sugar this time

I agree, and think it’s a delicious instance of karma in action.

Probably he meets the non-resident requirements apart from being a member of the House of Lords. He might not have known that that changed things. You say ‘he then found out’ so I would say it was a genuine mistake.

I don't think it has been suggested that it was not a genuine mistake. The distaste for his actions is caused by his wanting to be influential in the governance of the country and yet being reluctant to contribute towards it.

How can anyone owe that much tax? What on earth do they spend their money on.
Being a Lord isn’t an honour if it means more tax!

I guess he’s paid shedloads of tax over the course of his long working life and created many jobs for others.

He's not someone I would immediately have thought as greedy, grasping or a fool.

I expect he'll pay up as he was probably advised wrongly and it was a genuine mistake.

Now, with others I might agree with you, those who deliberately evade tax.

PamelaJ1

How can anyone owe that much tax? What on earth do they spend their money on.
Being a Lord isn’t an honour if it means more tax!

It's because he got a massive dividend payment of some £180+million. Tax is paid on dividends (though at a much lower rate than income tax)

It has nothing to do with him being a Lord.

He registered as being domicile outside if the U.K. specifically in order to avoid tax.

The idiot didn’t realise that being a Lord automatically means he is domicile in the U.K. for tax purposes.

I think someone who can make so much money is far from being an idiot.

Perhaps he just preferred living somewhere else!

I

Why so hateful toward Lord Sugar?
I would love to have some of that entrepreneurship about me. I am far too soft and giving it takes all kinds and I have no doubt he has made a fortune in enterprise around the country with spin offs.

Apologies. I got the figures wrong.

The £186m bill was due on UK earnings including a vast £390m dividend paid in 2021. The dividend had been amassed over years of deals and property sales by Sugar’s business empire,

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023-09-09/revealed-lord-alan-sugar-attempted-to-dodge-186m-tax-bill

The article does say that Sugar has always paid his UK taxes. There's no suggestion of wrongdoing.

Alan Sugar is definitely not a fool but greedy & grasping yes. Evidenced by his show The Apprentice, I have never seen such groups of selfish, uncaring and greedy young people as appear in that programme.

Exerpts From the FT

www.ft.com/content/a92aafc0-5136-489b-8572-0944518e5158

Alan Sugar is under pressure to clarify his tax status in the UK after he took a leave of absence from the House of Lords and paid himself a £390mn dividend.

Non-UK residents do not have to pay taxes on dividends from UK companies, but can only live in the UK for about 90 days per year, or fewer depending on their ties to the UK.

They are also only taxed in Britain on income sourced in the UK, and not on income or capital gains generated anywhere else in the world. Usually they cannot actively serve as Members of Parliament or in the House of Lords.

The dividend paid in 2021 would have triggered liability for as much as £160mn of dividend or income tax. The payout was one of the highest awarded to a British entrepreneur. Denise Coates, founder of Bet365, received salary and dividends that totalled £469mn in 2020, which made her one of the highest-earning corporate figures in the world.

Sugar’s spokesman said: “We are instructed to tell you that Lord Sugar is a UK taxpayer and will remain so. We have not asked you to write about our client, and as such we are not prepared to act as your editor. Please do not ask any further questions, as they will not be answered.”

Margaret Hodge MP, chair of the parliamentary group on responsible tax, called on Sugar to clarify his tax status, adding: “Alan Sugar has a public role, both as a lawmaker and a business icon and mentor.”

The putative £160mn tax liability is nearly three times the £58.6mn in tax Sugar paid in 2017, when he published a photograph of a cheque to HM Revenue & Customs on social media to publicise his large tax contribution.

Sugar has been outspoken on tax issues. He told Radio Times magazine in 2014: “You’ve got to pay tax, it is as simple as that. I don’t want to live a life dodging taxmen. I could have put my money in tax-avoidance schemes or hedge funds, but the only hedge fund I’ve ever invested in is a Black & Decker.”

One of Sugar’s companies, Amscruise Limited, which was registered in Malta in 2015, was included in the Paradise Papers, a 2017 data dump on offshore tax schemes. Sugar used the vehicle to buy his superyacht, the Lady A, for an undisclosed sum the same year.

MaizieD

PamelaJ1

How can anyone owe that much tax? What on earth do they spend their money on.
Being a Lord isn’t an honour if it means more tax!

It's because he got a massive dividend payment of some £180+million. Tax is paid on dividends (though at a much lower rate than income tax)

It has nothing to do with him being a Lord.

Did you read the article in the Times? He says that he would have resigned from the Lords if he had known it meant he would have to pay more tax.
I was just amazed that someone could spend that amount of money.
He may have given it to charity for all I know. A lot of very rich people do some very philanthropic things that we know nothing about.
He isn’t my favourite person but he’s worked very hard, taken lots of risks (I imagine. I took lots in my little business) and as GSM said has given employment to many.
I’m still bemused by how much money some people seem to get through.

sodapop

Alan Sugar is definitely not a fool but greedy & grasping yes. Evidenced by his show The Apprentice, I have never seen such groups of selfish, uncaring and greedy young people as appear in that programme.

Did you realise that Sugar gives his own personal fees from the Apprentice to Great Ormond Street?

Germanshepherdsmum

I think someone who can make so much money is far from being an idiot.

True. But he is still greedy, and wants to be resident "enough" to sit in The Lords, but not to pay tax. You know, the stuff which pays for the education, health, transport etc of all those employees. I cannot believe that anyone, irrespective of their politics, thinks that this is acceptable.

He's a very generous man

He's done well

He also paid about 59 million in tax in 2017

Goodness knows how much he's paid over the years.

growstuff, no I had no idea. Interesting.

A lot of people who are castigated for their wealth, despite not having been born with silver spoons in their mouths, quietly give a great deal to charity. Alan Sugar is one of many. And actually he’s a nice man, nothing like the person you see on The Apprentice - but remember that the winner benefits greatly from his financial input and advice.

PamelaJ1

MaizieD

PamelaJ1

How can anyone owe that much tax? What on earth do they spend their money on.
Being a Lord isn’t an honour if it means more tax!

It's because he got a massive dividend payment of some £180+million. Tax is paid on dividends (though at a much lower rate than income tax)

It has nothing to do with him being a Lord.

Did you read the article in the Times? He says that he would have resigned from the Lords if he had known it meant he would have to pay more tax.
I was just amazed that someone could spend that amount of money.
He may have given it to charity for all I know. A lot of very rich people do some very philanthropic things that we know nothing about.
He isn’t my favourite person but he’s worked very hard, taken lots of risks (I imagine. I took lots in my little business) and as GSM said has given employment to many.
I’m still bemused by how much money some people seem to get through.

Being a Lord didn't mean that he would be paying more tax. He was liable for that tax whether or not he was a Lord.

I understand he's paid it now.

He's apparently always 'boasted' that, being a UK resident he's no problem with paying UK tax. (sorry, I couldn't think of a better word than 'boasted', I'm afraid)

It looks as though a bill for £186 million was just a bit too much for him . What a terrible problem it must be, being so wealthy

No I didn't know that growstuff good on him. However it doesn't change my feelings about the show and its ethos.

sodapop

Alan Sugar is definitely not a fool but greedy & grasping yes. Evidenced by his show The Apprentice, I have never seen such groups of selfish, uncaring and greedy young people as appear in that programme.

So because you think the candidates are selfish, uncaring and greedy young people then it must follow that Alan Sugar is the same.

I'm not following the logic there.

FROM RAGS TO RICHES: WHAT MADE ALAN SUGAR SO SUCCESSFUL?
Humble beginnings
Born in 1947 in London’s East End, Alan’s early beginnings were a world away from the wealth and fortune he knows today. Growing up in a council flat, making ends meet was a struggle for the Sugar family.

After spells earning money at a greengrocer’s and within the civil service, Alan’s business streak emerged when he bought a van with his savings. He sold electricals from the back of it.

Birth of Amstrad
At just 21, Alan set up his own business, naming it Amstrad. He sold hi-fi turntable covers, car radios, aerials and other electrical items. However, it was the launch of Amstrad’s personal computer in 1984 that really put Alan’s company on the map – it boasted a net worth of £1.2 billion by 1986. Plus, thanks to Amstrad, TV viewers could affordably purchase Sky set-top boxes.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for Amstrad, however. The 1987 stock market crash and stiff competition from rivals such as Sega and Nintendo made life difficult for the brand. However, it eventually sold to BSkyB in 2007 for £125 million.