Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Brexit-supporting billionaire and founder of chemicals giant Ineos, is reportedly planning to save up to £4bn in tax by relocating to Monaco. The Sunday Times reports that Ratcliffe and his two top lieutenants, Andy Currie and John Reece, each of whom owns 20% of the £35bn company, are working with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to restructure the business and minimise tax on global revenues.
Ratcliffe, who owns 60% of Ineos, made profits of over £2.2bn last year and employs 18,500 people. His move to the tax-free principality follows his vocal support for Brexit in 2016, when he argued the UK had “a decent set of cards”. The tax avoidance plan comes amid controversy over a similar move by fellow Brexiter James Dyson, who relocated his business base to Singapore.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable condemned the move as “deeply cynical”, while shadow chancellor John McDonnell expressed disappointment, saying “for every penny avoided in taxation, the NHS doesn’t treat patients as well, children don’t get full investment in education, and there is less safety on our streets”. Campaign group Tax Justice UK’s executive director Robert Palmer said Ratcliffe had “put his own greed ahead of contributing to this country”.
Ineos has previously shifted its official head office to Switzerland from 2010 to 2016 after a tax dispute. PwC, which received £5.1m in fees from Ineos in 2017 including £1.7m for tax advice, declined to comment but stated it “did not consider there was any reason to terminate its relationship with Ineos”. Accounting professor Prem Sikka noted Ineos could use various structures such as diverting dividends or inter-company loans to reduce UK tax.
