We should pay no tax, billionaire boss of DIY investing giant Hargreaves Lansdown tells Government
No Tax: Peter Hargreaves believes companies would flock to the UK if they didn't have to pay tax
Peter Hargreaves, the billionaire co-founder of the discount broker Hargreaves Lansdown, may now be a darling of the British establishment after being awarded a CBE.
But the outspoken entrepreneur issued a challenge to the Government last night, saying companies should not pay any tax.
The 67-year-old Conservative supporter said: ‘I never understood why companies should pay tax. They don’t have a vote. If they didn’t have to pay tax, they would come here in droves and employ millions of people who would pay loads of tax.’
Arguing that Hargreaves Lansdown pays the ‘highest rate of tax in comparison to turnover of any FTSE 100 company’, he added: ‘Because companies don’t have a vote, they don’t think they should pay tax, so they come up with artificial schemes to avoid it.’
Hargreaves, who was awarded the CBE for services to business innovation, financial services and to the City of Bristol, said the honour was a tribute to all the people he has worked with.
‘This is for all the people who worked terribly hard to create a FTSE company in 30 years. It’s never been done before – not without borrowing or acquisition,’ he added.
Hargreaves co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown 32 years ago in a spare bedroom with Stephen Lansdown, and is now chairman. They started with a simple idea – producing a newsletter for people wanting to take their own investment decisions.
A recent boom in DIY investors has turned the two founders into billionaires and made Hargreaves Lansdown one of the great British business success stories.
The firm employs around 750 people at its headquarters in Bristol, with Hargreaves worth more than £2billion.
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