Papers reveal Blairs’ £300k tax saving on £6.5m property deal
LEAKED documents reveal Tony and Cherie Blair saved more than £300,000 in stamp duty by buying a property via an offshore company.
The former Prime Minister and his barrister wife became the owners of a £6.5million office building in 2017 by acquiring a British Virgin Island firm controlled by the family of HE Zayed bin Rashid Alzayani, a minister of the King of Bahrain.
And the Queen’s Crown Estate has launched an internal review over a £67million London property it seems to have bought from Azerbaijan’s multimillionaire ruling family – which has repeatedly been accused of corruption.
The deals are revealed in the latest so-called Pandora Papers – a trove of leaked files from offshore companies that expose tax haven secrecy.
They provide a rare window into the hidden world of offshore finance, casting light on the financial secrets of some of the world’s richest people.
They allegedly reveal Alzayani as the secret shareholder of another offshore firm that has spent more than £60million buying UK commercial property over the past nine years, including the Marylebone address sold to the Blairs.
Loopholes
The tax saving was made because the Blairs acquired the property’s holding company – not the building directly – meaning they did not have to pay about £312,000 in stamp duty.
There is nothing illegal about the transaction and there is no evidence the Blairs proactively sought to avoid stamp duty.
A spokeswoman for the couple said: “The vendor sold the company not the property.
“Since the purchase was of a company no buyer would have had to pay UK stamp duty on that transaction.
“However, because the Blairs then repatriated the company and brought it onshore, they are liable for capital gains and other taxes on the resale of the property – which will significantly exceed any stamp duty.
“For the record, the Blairs pay full tax on all their earnings. And have never used offshore schemes either to hide transactions or avoid tax.”
Robert Palmer, the executive director of Tax Justice UK, said: “It is unfair…These are loopholes that are available to wealthy people but not available to others.”
The revelations raise questions about potential loopholes in the UK’s property registration system, and whether they prevent proper due diligence.
The Crown Estate – nominally owned by the UK monarch – is run by commissioners for the benefit of the nation’s finances.
A spokesperson for the estate, which manages £15billion of property assets, said: “Before our purchase we conducted checks including those required by UK law. At the time we did not establish any reason why the transaction should not proceed. Given the potential concerns raised, we’re looking into the matter.”
The millions of leaked documents have uncovered financial secrets of 35 current and former world leaders, more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries.
The dealings of murderers, fugitives and con artists globally are exposed.
The King of Jordan, the presidents of Ukraine, Kenya and Ecuador and the prime minister of the Czech Republic are mentioned. Other people linked to offshore assets include
India’s cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, pop music diva Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer and an Italian mobster known as “Lell the Fat One”.
The files also detail financial activities of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unofficial minister of propaganda” and more than 130 billionaires from Russia, the United States, Turkey and other nations.
Offshore providers can charge thousands of pounds to help clients set up a company whose real owners remain hidden. This can help to shield assets from creditors, police and even divorcing spouses.