Richard Tice urges 20 per cent corporation tax or lower
Richard Tice called London’s culture "anti-wealth" at Spear's 500 Live on 6 May, then argued that lower taxes and simpler regulation were needed to stop entrepreneurs and investors leaving the capital. The deputy leader of Reform UK said the city needed to grow faster and attract more wealth creators, not push them out.
He said people were already asking why they should stay in London and why they should pay all those taxes. Tice also called for corporation tax of 20 per cent or lower, compared with the main rate of 25 per cent at the time, and pressed for simplification of business rules.
The Savoy on 6 May
Tice spoke at The Savoy alongside economist Vicky Pryce and John Mulryan. He said over-regulation in the financial and planning sectors was holding London back, while excessive taxation on wealth creators was stymying economic growth.
He added that the political class had driven the situation and that it had been catastrophic. Tice also said law and order concerns were driving internationally wealthy residents away from the capital, and that London needed entrepreneurs, wealth creators and risk-takers to be coming in rather than leaving.
London property and jobs
The remarks landed against a backdrop of double digit-falls in central London property values and London unemployment at 7.4 per cent, compared with a national average of 4.9 per cent. Those figures made the argument about taxes, regulation and investment more immediate for businesses deciding where to base staff and capital.
Pryce described London as Britain’s "lacklustre golden goose" and called the government’s 2024 £25 billion National Insurance hike a "complete mistake" and a "tax on jobs." She said Brexit had not been as "disastrous" for financial services as feared and gave Chancellor Rachel Reeves five out of 10 for managing the UK economy.
Tice’s case was straightforward: if the capital wants investors, founders and finance to stay, it needs lighter rules and a lower tax bill. Without that, his warning was that London keeps losing the very people and businesses it depends on.
