Gary Lineker wins £4.9m tax appeal against HMRC

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2023

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Gary Lineker has won his £4.9m tax appeal against HMRC.

The Match Of The Day host was pursued for the cash by tax authorities, who said it should have been paid on income received between 2013 and 2018.

HMRC said Lineker, 62, should have been classed as an employee of the BBC and BT Sport for his presenting duties, rather than as a freelancer.

The bill came as part of legislation known as IR35, designed to crack down on tax avoidance by so-called disguised employees, who charge for their services via limited companies. The aim is for contractors or freelancers to pay broadly the same income tax and national insurance as an employee.

Lineker had maintained that all taxes were paid on his income via a partnership, Gary Lineker Media (GLM), set up with his ex-wife Danielle Bux in 2012.

His lawyer James Rivett KC told a preliminary hearing in London in February that the star had been “dragged through the papers accused of not paying income tax which has been paid”, and claimed there was a political element to the investigations.

Tribunal judge John Brooks has now found that while GLM was a partnership to which IR35 legislation applies, the appeal should be granted because contracts existed between the presenter and both the BBC and BT Sport.

The judge said: “As a matter of law, when Mr Lineker signed the 2013 BBC contract, the 2015 BBC contract and the BT Sport contract for the provision of his services, he did so as principal thereby contracting directly with the BBC and BT Sport.

“As such, the intermediaries legislation cannot apply – it is only applicable ‘where services are provided not under a contract directly between client and the worker’.

“In this case Mr Lineker’s services were provided under direct contracts with the BBC and BT Sport.

“Although such a conclusion might appear inconsistent with my conclusions that the intermediaries legislation can apply to partnerships… that is not the case.”

He added that he could “dispose of the entire appeal in the appellants’ favour and the appeal is therefore allowed”.

Following the decision, Lineker tweeted: “Thanks for all the congratulatory messages. I am pleased that the Tribunal has endorsed my contention that I have not failed to pay any taxes or National Insurance by reason of the IR35 rules.”

HMRC is considering appealing.

“The tribunal has confirmed the off-payroll rules apply to partnerships, as we have always said,” a spokesperson said. “However, we do not agree with its decision that the rules cannot apply in this case and we’re considering an appeal.”

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The HMRC spokesperson added: “It is our duty to ensure everyone pays the right tax under the law, regardless of wealth or status.”

The Lineker-BBC row

Lineker is Match Of The Day’s longest-serving presenter and has been on the football show since the 1990s following a successful football career for clubs including Leicester City, Tottenham and Barcelona, as well as for England.

Earlier in March, the star was forced off air in a row over a tweet criticising the government’s migration policy, with his co-presenters standing down from the show in solidarity.

He returned the following week following talks with the BBC, which has announced a review, led by an independent expert, on its social media guidance – with a focus on how it applies to freelancers outside news and current affairs.

The football pundit topped the BBC’s highest paid star list in 2022, earning between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 for his work on Match Of The Day, Sports Personality Of The Year, and other programmes.

Lineker’s tax case follows similar attempts by HMRC to target other broadcasters including Lorraine Kelly and Kaye Adams.

As the decision on the presenter’s appeal was announced, former BBC director-general Lord Birt appeared before the digital, culture, media and sport committee (DCMS) as part of a session in the wake of his three-day Match Of The Day suspension.

He told the hearing that presenters such as Lineker who are “inextricably bound up with an important BBC programme” should have to abide by impartiality rules.

Asked whether he thought viewers appreciated the difference between news staff and freelancers, Lord Birt said: “I am sure the public doesn’t even think about it.

“What it knows is that this (Match Of The Day) is one of the most important BBC programmes and this is a well established presenter.

“And yes, he was one of England’s great centre-forwards but let’s not kid ourselves. His status, his standing and his power arises above all else from presenting this extremely important programme.”

Acknowledging public opinion over Lineker’s tweet was split, Lord Birt added: “I don’t ever think the damage in respect to the BBC is terminal because it has got too much credit in the bank.”

Entertainment

Paul Mescal says Saoirse Ronan ‘hit nail on the head’ with comment on women’s safety

Published

6 hours ago

November 16, 2024

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Paul Mescal says Saoirse Ronan 'hit nail on the head' with comment on women's safety

Paul Mescal praised fellow Irish star and friend Saoirse Ronan for speaking out about women’s safety in a TV talk show clip that went viral.

The two Oscar nominees appeared on The Graham Norton Show, where Eddie Redmayne was talking about how he trained for his role as a lone assassin in Sky Atlantic series The Day Of The Jackal, where he was taught how to use a mobile phone if attacked.

In response, Mescal, 28, joked: “Who is going to think about that though?”

He continued:: “If someone attacks me I’m not going to go [reaches into pocket] phone.”

But Ronan chimed in and said: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?”

The clip quickly went viral on social media, with Ronan praised for holding the men to account.

Mescal was asked on Irish broadcaster RTE’s The Late Late Show if they were surprised by the reaction the clip had.

“I’m not surprised that the message received as much attention that it got, because it’s massively important and I’m sure you’ve had Saoirse on the show, like, she’s… quite often, more often than not, the most intelligent person in the room,” he replied.

He said she was “spot on” and “hit the nail on the head”, adding it was good “messages like that are kind of gaining traction – that’s a conversation that we should absolutely be having on a daily basis”.

Ronan previously called the reaction to her comments “wild”.

She told The Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin Radio UK: “It’s definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn’t necessarily set out to sort of make a splash.”

But she said men and women from around the world had reached out to her following the moment.

She said the men on the show “weren’t sort of like debunking anything that I was saying”, and explained Mescal “completely gets” the issue as they have talked about it before.

Entertainment

Jon Kenny: Irish comedian who starred in Father Ted and Banshees of Inisherin dies aged 66

Published

8 hours ago

November 16, 2024

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Jon Kenny: Irish comedian who starred in Father Ted and Banshees of Inisherin dies aged 66

Jon Kenny, an Irish comedian and actor known for D’Unbelievables and roles on Father Ted, has died aged 66.

His wife Margie told local news outlet the Limerick Leader that the comedian had died on Friday evening in Galway Clinic.

In a statement to the newspaper, Kenny’s family said he had a cardiac arrest early on 10 November. They added the comedian “grabbed life and shook it as hard as he could getting every ounce of fun, madness and love from it”.

They also said: “His wit, humour, generosity and kindness will outlast his passing. The memories and stories of those who knew him will be his legend.”

Kenny was best known as half of the comedy duo with Pat Shortt called D’Unbelievables in the 1980s. He also made two guest appearances in Father Ted as Michael Cocheese and Fred Rickwood.

The comedian was reunited with Shortt in the 2022 film The Banshees of Inisherin, where both had small roles.

Paying tribute, Taoiseach Simon Harris called the Limerick actor a “gifted performer,” while Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald called him a “comedic genius”.

In a post on social media, Mr Harris said: “Jon had the ability, that very few people possess, to make his audiences crack up laughing with a glance or a single word.

“Behind that seemingly effortless talent to joke, there was a gifted performer and an extremely deep thinker.”

The Taoiseach added he was in Limerick on Friday “when word of his death came through and to say he is beloved, is a huge understatement”.

Ms McDonald also said of Kenny: “Along with his compadre Pat Shortt – [he] connected with the unique humour and wit of the Irish people in a very special way.

“He leaves the best legacy – he made people laugh and smile. Jon Kenny will be deeply missed.”

Fellow Irish comedian Dara O Briain said on social media Kenny “was a lovely, lovely man, and a comedy powerhouse”.

He said: “D’Unbeliveables opened the door to all the rest of us, doing epic tours and dragging the audience, sometimes bodily, into a mad world of their creation.

“A unique man, and will be missed.”

Entertainment

Boy George on the price of fame – and his rocky relationship with Madonna

Published

9 hours ago

November 16, 2024

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Boy George on the price of fame – and his rocky relationship with Madonna

Boy George is contemplating his relationship with fame. Intoxicating, often inescapable, he says he has not always found his decades in the spotlight easy

There has been a cost, he says. Much has been well documented. But in recent years he has been able to enjoy it all much more.

And it’s not real. “Fame is a figment of other people’s imaginations. You’re only famous because other people believe you are.”

Most will know Boy George the avant garde musician, flamboyant frontman of Culture Club, one of the biggest music acts of the 1980s. Big hats, big songs, big personality. He has found new fans more recently through appearances on reality shows such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and as a judge on The Voice.

He is also an artist, and fame is the theme of his latest collection of portraits.

Vivid, bold, punk, they are exactly as you might expect. He has painted his hero David Bowie, fellow music icons Madonna and Prince, as well as a self-portrait.

“I think of Boy George from the ’80s as a sort of cartoon character,” he says. “Because on the one hand, there was this public persona, which was one thing, and it was very recognisable. And then there was me behind it… I used to have a real problem with [fame] and I feel now I’m like, it’s just a job.”

The portrait of his younger self is a reminder of how his relationship with fame has changed.

“I never really took it that seriously,” he says. “There were moments when I lost my mind – we all know what they were. But I always kind of knew who I was.”

‘I was really lucky to have my family’

The star, whose real name is George O’Dowd, has spoken and written about his struggles with addiction in the past. In 2009, he was jailed for four months for false imprisonment.

In his last autobiography, he described it as a “stupid, aggressive and regrettable” incident that was over in “less than 30 seconds”. He disputes some of the details that came out in court, but called himself an “idiot who did too many drugs and made a massive mistake”.

George says his family helped him through the dark times. Despite there being more conversation than ever around mental health and the pressures on young stars today, he is not convinced the support is any better.

“I think in my case, I was really lucky to have my family… particularly my late mother. Whatever was going on, she was always there to kind of try and harness me into reality. And sometimes it took a bit of pulling and shoving, but I feel like my family have been so important to me in terms of, you know, keeping me sane. But it hasn’t always been an easy thing.”

Now in his 60s, as well as Boy George, he is plain old “George from Eltham”, southeast London; although plain is not really an adjective you would ascribe to him.

“As I’ve got older, I’ve kind of accepted I created this Boy George person, and I can either have as much fun with it as I can, or I can make it full of anxiety,” he says.

For his Fame collection, he chose Bowie because the artist “shaped my whole career, my whole childhood”. His relationship with Madonna, whom he has captured in her Madame X era from 2019 rather than one of her more famous earlier incarnations, “because artists continue to evolve”, is more complex.

They first met after he saw her in concert in New York, with fellow ’80s star Marilyn and two friends. They went backstage and he asked for a picture.

‘There’s never been warmth… on either side’

“She grabbed the boys and just sat them on her lap, which is kind of major,” he says. “She took control immediately. And I’ve got this great picture of Madonna and this guy that I kind of lost contact with.”

But he and the Queen of Pop never became friends. “Over the years we sort of met each other, but there’s never been any kind of warmth necessarily on either side,” he says. “But I am a fan… with me, if I like the music, I don’t necessarily have to be best friends with the person… I can like things without being petty.”

It was perhaps part and parcel of fame in the 1980s, he says.

“When you’re young, everything’s a competition. As you get older, you get a bit more confident about who you are and more secure and therefore you’re able to enjoy things without feeling threatened. So I think in the ’80s, all of us were in competition with each other… nowadays I’m kind of able to enjoy a lot of bands that I hissed at in the past, you know.”

Earlier this year, George made his Broadway debut, performing in Moulin Rouge. Now, he is getting ready for gigs with Culture Club again, alongside Tony Hadley and Heaven 17.

They will play their first two albums, Kissing To Be Clever and Colour By Numbers, in full. “[It’s] one of the reasons I agreed to this tour,” he says. “I knew we wouldn’t argue about what we were playing.”

There is also a biopic in the works. George has long said he would like Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner to play him and the campaign continues, he says. “In this day and age, why can’t have a woman playing a man? Why not break the rules? It’s kind of what I was doing 30, 40 years ago.”

And he is still releasing solo music. His latest track, Let The Flowers Grow, is a collaboration with Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy.

“A lot of stuff I release, no one really hears of it unless they’re like a mad hardcore fan,” he says. “I’ve released 54 tracks in the last year, probably more than any other artist. And I will continue to keep putting stuff out and being creative because it feels like breathing, you know, it feels really enjoyable and I feel lucky that I get to do the thing I love.”

He takes a beat. “I mean that. I really enjoy it now in a way that I just didn’t know how to 10 years ago, 20 years ago, because I was so busy worrying about what other people thought about this, that and the other.

“Now I’m like, I want to tell people how I feel more. I mean, I’ve always done that, but I feel like, when you start to understand yourself more and realise what makes you actually happy, then you are able to express yourself in a better way.”