Bernie Ecclestone’s £650m fraud settlement ‘made him second biggest taxpayer in UK’
A £650m fraud settlement agreed by former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone made him the second-biggest taxpayer in the UK last year, according to The Sunday Times Tax List.
The 93-year-old billionaire businessman was spared jail last after admitting failing to declare more than £400m held in a trust in Singapore to the government.
Money latest: How we made almost £1,000 in three months switching banks
He agreed to settle £652.6m over tax he was meant to pay to HM Revenue & Customs during 18 years starting in 1994.
As a result, the tax list researchers said Mr Ecclestone was the second-highest individual taxpayer in the country.
The top slot was taken by Alex Gerko, a Russian-born financial trader and founder of XTX Markets, at £664.5m.
Third on the list were Denise, John and Peter Coates, the family behind online gambling giant Bet365. They paid £375.9m.
The gambling fortune of Fred and Peter Done and family put them in fourth place at £204.6m, closely followed by Wetherspoon founder Sir Tim Martin on £167.1m.
The youngest single taxpayer to make the top 100 list was singer Ed Sheeran, 32, who paid £39.6m to the exchequer.
The boxer Anthony Joshua was a new entry on the list this year, paying an estimated £12.2m.
The youngest single taxpayer on the list was singer Ed Sheeran
In total, the 100 individuals and families paid £5.3bn in tax – 3.3% more than a year ago.
But when the bumper contributions by Mr Gerko and Mr Ecclestone are stripped out, the total from the remaining 98 entries is down by £200m – the same amount the government pledged to the NHS to boost winter resilience.
Read more on Sky News:
UK’s biggest mortgage lender to cut 1,600 jobs
Rents hit record high but signs of a slowdown in market
Tax List compiler Robert Watts said: “This has been the highest taxing government since the Second World War and although the total tax take is up – it is only by 3.3%.
“Bernie Ecclestone seems to have saved Jeremy Hunt’s blushes. The total tax found in this year’s research would have been a wedge lower were it not for the vast sum shelled out by the Formula One tycoon to settle a long-running investigation.”
The researchers said that Akshata Murty, the wife of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was liable for tax of around £4.8m after she gave up her non-dom status following political pressure. It was not enough to get her included on the list.
Listen and subscribe to The Ian King Business Podcast here.
“If you look at the bottom 98 in this year’s list they paid £4.03bn, £200m less than last year,” Mr Watts said.
“That’s the amount the government pledged to the NHS to boost winter resilience. Two thirds of the wealthy individuals in 2023’s Tax List were found to have paid less tax this year.
“That was usually because their businesses have reported lower profits. But lower tax receipts from the UK’s richest people may raise more than the odd eyebrow at a time when the public finances remain stretched and there is talk of budget giveaways in the air.”
A 53-year-old man has been charged after a car was driven into a crowd at Liverpool FC’s trophy parade.
Paul Doyle, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, has been charged with seven offences, Merseyside Police said.
The businessman, who is a father-of-three, is accused of two counts of unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and two counts of causing unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Paul Doyle
Doyle is also accused of two counts of attempted unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and one count of dangerous driving.
He is due to appear before Liverpool Magistrates Court on Friday.
The charges relate to six people, including two children. A wounding charge and an attempted grievous bodily harm charge relate to a child.
A police car was outside Doyle’s four-bedroom detached family home in the West Derby area on Thursday morning.
According to his social media, he has travelled extensively including Japan, Fiji, India and Australia. Doyle has posted pictures of himself competing in triathlons, and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
New Liverpool incident footage
Thousands of fans were gathered in Liverpool city centre on Monday to celebrate the Premier League champions’ title win when a car struck a crowd on Water Street.
Police said a total of 79 people were injured in the incident, with the youngest aged nine, and the oldest being a 78-year-old.
Seven people remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Forensic officers at the scene in Water Street. Pic: PA
‘Huge volume of evidence’
Chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Mersey-Cheshire, Sarah Hammond, told a news conference on Thursday that the investigation was at an early stage and a “huge volume of evidence” was being reviewed.
“This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve.
“The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.”
Police ‘working tirelessly’
Also at the briefing where the charges were announced was Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, Jenny Sims, who said: “I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions.
“Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism, to seek the answer to all of those questions. When we are able to, we will provide further information.”
The youngest victim injured in the Liverpool parade crash on Monday is nine years old, police have said.
They added that the oldest is 78, with all 79 people injured understood to be British. Seven remain in hospital in a stable condition.
Merseyside Police declined to say what drug the 53-year-old man arrested over the incident is alleged to have taken.
“We wouldn’t go into this detail at this stage of the investigation,” the force said.
Police at the scene in Liverpool. Pic: AP
Forensic officers in Water Street. Pic: PA
Police are still questioning the driver and were granted further time to do so on Wednesday.
Officers have until Thursday evening to question the man from West Derby.
He is in custody on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving and drug driving.
Police believe the car which struck pedestrians was able to follow an ambulance crew attending to someone suffering a heart attack after a road block was temporarily lifted.
Hundreds of thousands of Liverpool fans had turned out to celebrate their team’s Premier League title when the incident unfolded on Water Street just after 6pm on Monday.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘My boy in his pram, got bounced’
‘The best day of my life turned into worst’
Sky News interviewed a lifelong Liverpool fan who said his five-month-old son was “bounced” 15ft (4.6m) in his pram after they were hit by the vehicle.
The child was not counted in the police’s injury tally.
Daniel Eveson, 36, also said his partner had been driven over.
“The best day of my life turned into [the] worst,” Mr Eveson said.
He added: “Me and my partner were flat on the roof, on the bonnet… we were just both trying to hold on for dear life with Ted next to us.
“And my partner went under the wheels of the car, of the front of the car, and it rolled over her leg, and I just bounced off to the side, but my boy and his pram got bounced totally in the opposite direction – about 15ft down the road.”
Read more:
How the parade crash unfolded
Police given more time to question Liverpool suspect
Why police released ‘unprecedented’ details
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Liverpool to meet with police chiefs and the local metro mayor.
He said he was being kept informed of developments, adding: “The scenes on Monday were just awful, to see how incredible joy at an amazing achievement turned to horror in a moment.”
Messages of support have been sent to the people of Liverpool, including from the King who said: “I know that the strength of community spirit for which your city is renowned will be a comfort and support to those in need.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales said they were “deeply saddened” by the incident.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway