Longleat must pay £1m tax bill

AMERICAN businesswoman and notorious tax- dodger, the late Leona Helmsley, once declared that ‘only the little people pay taxes’.

But our own Viscount weymouth, heir to the Longleat estate, is not above paying his dues to HMRc.

I can reveal that the taxman has ordered the company that runs the wiltshire estate and safari park, Longleat enterprises, to pay almost £ 1 million by october 12.

The demand was issued in July as an Accelerated Payment notice, which HMRc issues ‘ to taxpayers involved in avoidance schemes’. Late or non-payment will result in penalties.

As I reported in January, HMRc has conducted two inquiries into Longleat’s tax affairs in recent years. In 2015, Longleat had to pay more than £1 million to settle an HMRc inquiry into ‘deductions for corporation tax’ in 2006. A spokesman for Longleat declined to comment on the matter.