The association’s failure to spot “a basic error” means it potentially owes as much as £23,000 in unpaid tax
The Conservative Association in Suella Braverman’s parliamentary constituency somehow appears to have failed to pay tax for a whole 16 years.
The Fareham and Waterlooville Conservative Association, which rents out an office space to Braverman, may have failed to pay as much as £23,000 in tax over the years.
Unincorporated associations like local Conservative Associations are required to pay corporation tax on any profits they earn.
However, the association, which was known as Fareham Conservative Association before the parliamentary constituency boundary changes in 2023, failed to realise this.
As reported by Politics UK, the Association Chairman and chartered accountant Tom Davies admitted the mistake in an email to Conservative Campaign Headquarters.
Davies stated: “Our association has rented out an office to our MP for 20+ years and has always worked on the belief that it is not taxable income… we now know that assumption was incorrect.”
Party accounts submitted to the Electoral Commission since 2009 reveal the Association hasn’t paid any tax, despite posting profits in multiple years.
Since 2009, the Association has made £32,815 in profit-making years, meaning it should have paid £6,235 in corporation tax on those earnings.
Emails seen by PoliticsUK indicate the total unpaid tax bill, taking into account earlier years, could be as much as £23,762.
Braverman pays her local Conservative party £460 per month for a space in a building owned by the association, which she pays for using taxpayer funds claimed as parliamentary expenses.
Since becoming an MP in 2015, Braverman has claimed £49,000 for the rent, in accordance with the Independent Parliamentary Standard Authority’s rules.
A regional official for the Conservative Party told PoliticsUK: “It’s an embarrassment that the Chairman of one of our principal Associations; someone who served as Suella Braverman’s election agent, and a self-described ‘tax accountancy expert’, couldn’t spot such a basic error.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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