Anne Robinson quits Countdown as part of tax crackdown

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  • Top ITV stars set to lose a fortune in tax crackdown with some paying DOUBLE
    TOP ITV stars face losing a small fortune in an HMRC crackdown, The Sun on Sunday can reveal. Bosses have been told to treat them as staff on PAYE instead of…
    www.thesun.co.uk

    Many of tv's top "talent" are self employed and thus have been able to avoid paying a load of tax until now, but I wasn't aware that when it was announced that Anne Robinson was leaving Countdown, the reason was this tax crackdown.

    If someone is employed by a company or other organisation to do a job whether it be a tv presenter or uber driver, they are employees of that company and should be treated as such, but why has it taken so long to crack down on this widespread tax evasion by the tv "stars"?

  • Many of them imo are overrated and overpaid , Robinson is very wooden and boring , yes they can avoid tax as others can legally avoid reduce their tax its not Tax Evasion , but Tax Avoidance which is legal

  • I am not a tax expert but high earners have always paid more tax on their income if generated in the UK even if they use legal Tax Avoidance Measures it may reduce their direct taxation amount but not by much

  • I'm very conscious of IR35 as I run my own company providing design services to other companies in the area. It is necessary to show that one company that you provide services to is not your exclusive or major source of income in any 24 month period.

    I pay no NI or income tax and take only a minimal salary to the tax threshold but instead rely on the profits of my company by dividends that only attract a marginal tax rate of 19%.

    Fortunately I worked long enough for the man (30 years) and paid NI that I have full state pension rights.

    Footballers and TV celebrities have used this loophole for too long to avoid paying their fair share. About time it was tightened up.

    History is much like an Endless Waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever.

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  • Gormless Gordon Brown mad the already complex tax system even more complex , I am not certain but I think HMRC have tightened up on Tax Allowances

  • She used a loophole as she done some adverts. Same loophole Lorraine Kelly got investigated over as they can class themselves as an actor/actress rather than a presenter. Presenters pay more tax which is why you will see them doing insurance and crisps ad's etc as well as the odd guest appearance on shows like Coronation st.

  • If there are loopholes why has no Government closed them over the years, as far as I am aware they are not doing anything wrong or unlawful they still pay tax on the income and probably still pay far more than the average worker.

  • It's not really a loophole. The law recognises the legitimate difference between a contractor and an employee. The problem is that some people have passed themselves off as contractors, when clearly they are not. The HMRC should have really cracked down on this some time ago.

  • Yes that is how I understand it if not lawful HMRC would over them like a rash, I worked full time for over 50 years PAYE , I started my own business working from home a pal of mine who is an account put me straight in what I could claim for using my car stationary stamps etc first time ever I had a tax rebate.

    I have more than one pension besides the State Pension he looked at the figures for me and saw straight away I was paying too much tax , and got another rebate last year, HMRC had got it wrong I was being tax too much for over 8 years , I did not get it all back but something was better than nothing

  • No...it's presenters and actors/actresses. An actor or actress pays less tax than a presenter (a different tax bracket) from what I understand over the Lorraine Kelly case and shortly after her case she made a brief appearance in Coronation St to back up her claims that she's an actress. It's definitely a loophole that needs closing and I wonder why it hasn't.

  • She used a loophole as she done some adverts. Same loophole Lorraine Kelly got investigated over as they can class themselves as an actor/actress rather than a presenter.

    Interesting. Did not know that.

  • No...it's presenters and actors/actresses. An actor or actress pays less tax than a presenter (a different tax bracket) from what I understand over the Lorraine Kelly case and shortly after her case she made a brief appearance in Coronation St to back up her claims that she's an actress. It's definitely a loophole that needs closing and I wonder why it hasn't.

    It’s not being an actress that determines it. It’s the reality of whether you carry out work for different organisations or individuals. If you work for only one organisation at times dictated by them and with holiday entitlement, sick benefits, etc, you are clearly an employee and not a contractor.

    I guess Lorraine Kelly was trying to prove that she did not only provide her services to the presentation of her Lorraine show and that she undertook other work as well.

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