Gary Lineker in status row with HMRC
The mainstream media has been awash with reports that former England international and current BBC favourite Gary Lineker is being pursued by HMRC for almost £5 million in unpaid tax. What’s the truth behind the headlines?
As with previous cases, HMRC is attesting that Gary Lineker was engaged on terms that meant he was employed in all but name by the BBC and BT Sports for work done between 2013 and 2018, i.e. whether the engagements were caught by IR35. His services are provided through a personal service company. HMRC is pursuing “unpaid” tax of £3.6 million and NI of £1.3 million.
For his part, Mr Lineker strongly denies that he owes HMRC anything. Interestingly, it has been reported that part of the refuting argument is how much leeway he appears to have in terms of political commentary on social media - BBC employees are required to be impartial on such platforms. Whether this carries any weight at tribunal will be interesting to follow. Mr Lineker can take some encouragement that the cases of Lorraine Kelly and Kaye Adams both found in favour of the presenters. However, Eammon Holmes was less fortunate and is currently awaiting an appeal to the Upper Tribunal after losing his initial appeal.
Related Topics
-
Government rushes through NI cap on pension salary sacrifice
The government has already drafted legislation to impose a £2,000 limit on NI exempt pension contributions under salary sacrifice arrangements. What else do we know?
-
Sneaky change is a blow for side hustles
With most of the media focused on the headline-grabbing announcements from the Budget, a read of the published small print reveals another change coming in 2029. It’s bad news if you are an employee with a side hustle, but what’s going on?
-
Dodging the 2027 IHT and pension changes
In a little over a year the inheritance tax (IHT) exemption for unused pension savings comes to an end. If you’re married or in a civil partnership, one simple step might save your estate thousands in IHT. What is it?
This website uses both its own and third-party cookies to analyze our services and navigation on our website in order to improve its contents (analytical purposes: measure visits and sources of web traffic). The legal basis is the consent of the user, except in the case of basic cookies, which are essential to navigate this website.