Better for the Country
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Better for the Country Ltd is the second largest individual donor to any EU referendum campaign, having given £1.95 million to umbrella 'leave' group, Grassroots Out. The company is owned by Arron Banks, an insurance millionaire with strong links to UKIP. [1]
Better for the Country Ltd is also the official company name in Companies House Records for Leave.EU, one of the lead anti-EU campaigns which is also owned by Banks. He commented the following amid controversy that the company was set up by offshore firm STM Fidec:
- 'Big deal, I am an international business man and I asked STM to set up the company for me, which they did. Better for the Country Ltd is registered in the UK and subject to tax etc, like any other UK-registered company. It’s fully owned by me and I pay tax in the UK. To suggest I avoid tax is utter rubbish. I am a UK taxpayer and I choose to be, I have nothing to hide and have already published my cheque made payable to HMRC last year. For the ‘remain’ side to suggest I am unpatriotic is laughable, when they advocate daily UK taxpayers subsidising the EU project. I am much more patriotic than they are. I support Great Britain, they support the EU.' [2]
Donations
- Grassroots Out - donated a total of £1,952,374.76 on 31 March 2016 to the anti-EU campaign group, in the UK's EU membership referendum on 23 June 2016. [3]
Notes
- ↑ Sarah Gordon, Harriet Agnew 'Brexit campaigners out-fundraise their Remain rivals', May 11 2016, Financial Times, accessed 18 May 2016
- ↑ Daniel Boffey, 'Tax-avoidance Gibraltar firm behind anti-EU campaign group', 7 November 2015, The Guardian, accessed 18 May 2016
- ↑ Electoral Commission, Grassroots Out Donor Search, accessed 12 May 2016
