Gary Lineker wins £4.9m tax appeal against HMRC
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.
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What are the BBC impartiality rules?
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.”
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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