Celebrity taxation

[leftie]

After seeing the way the inland revenue taxes the general public at every turn, I was wondering if 'celegrities' get the same attention from the IR as we motlas do????

I give you an example or three. I go to Jersey on business and take my wife. Tax man climbs all over me because the trip is now not exclusively business as I stay a few extra days and have the wife with me. Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen takes his wife (yes he is hetrosexual) and kids on holiday, Jordan takes her kid and Mum, on honeymoon etc etc but because it could be construed that they part of it is filming (the wife and kids are set decoraton?)do they escape the tax man??? Do I take it they film for the full 14 days?

Another example. I pay people £20 to fill in market research type documents for me looking at their job. Tax man sees it as a Benefit in ind (BiK) because they do it because of their job. I get an invite to a business lanuch and get a bag with a bottle of wine and a Hobbs Pasmina becaue I am attending for my job. Tax man sees it as a BiK. Celebs go to red carpet premier or award ceremony and get goody bag full of expensive goodies. How does the tax man see it? My company pay my gym membership (BiK). Celebrities hire personal trainers to get into shape after a baby. I need to be in good nick to do my job, just as they do.

My travel to work is not allowed as an expense. Celebrities get picked up by limo every day and taken to the same place of work ( e.g. BBC breakfast presenters).

Do they ever get nailed for all of this? I know I do (even if vicariously via my accountant)

[simpo two]

I expect celebs get turned over more scrupulously than ordinary Joes. However, they are too stupid to manage their own affairs so will have managers to do it for them.

[deva link]

There may be someone on here with direct experience of this, but I think you'll find that, typically, celebs operate as companies in their own right. So if the BBC (for example) would pay Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen Ltd to do work for them and Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen would draw a salary from the company. So any benefits (like the personal trainer) would be taxed as BIK to Lawrence. A lot of very senior exec's work like this too - ours does, and in fact there was a bit of a row when it was discovered that the then Director of the BBC was doing the same thing.

On the car front, apparently the BBC will send a car to get people to a show, but then they're abandoned to make their own way home, so it's not always particularly useful.

>> Edited by deva link on Sunday 6th November 21:23

[simpo two]

deva link said:

A lot of very senior exec's work like this too - ours does, and in fact there was a bit of a row when it was discovered that the then Director of the BBC was doing the same thing.

A Socialist, dodging tax? I hate hypocrites. Shoot him.

[deva link]

simpo two said:

deva link said: A lot of very senior exec's work like this too - ours does, and in fact there was a bit of a row when it was discovered that the then Director of the BBC was doing the same thing. A Socialist, dodging tax? I hate hypocrites. Shoot him.

It was John Birt, by the way, and he did become a BBC employee when the news leaked out.