LINEKER CHASED OVER £5M TAX BILL
GARY LINEKER is being pursued by the taxman over a £4.9million bill it is claimed the TV host owes.
Tribunal documents published last month reveal the that Match of the Day presenter has been in dispute with HM Revenue & Customs for more than a year.
It has accused the former England footballer of being a “disguised employee” and is seeking £3,621,735.90 in income tax and £1,313,755.38 in national insurance from work he performed for the BBC between 2013/14 and 2016/17 and for BT Sport during the 2015/16 and 2017/18 tax years.
The row centres around whether Gary was self-employed or an employee when he was doing the TV work. His personal company, Gary Lineker Media, established with his ex-wife Danielle Bux, disputes that he was employed.
The company lodged a request to amend its grounds of appeal at the tax tribunal on March 16 last year but the case remained outstanding because of coronavirus restrictions, the tribunal said.
Legislation known as IR35 is designed to crack down on tax avoidance by so-called disguised employees.These workers bill for their services via limited companies and avoid paying income tax and national insurance contributions, despite effectively being employees.
Instead they pay corporate taxes, which are usually significantly lower.
Gary’s agent Jon Holmes said: “It is a question of whether he is employed by the BBC or not. Most people, once they understand employment law, would say of course he isn’t. He works for many other people.”
Another spokesman for Gary said: “GLM is a partnership in which Danielle Bux was a minority partner.
“He has paid all personal tax.The amount is notional and disputed. Gary remains a self employed contractor for several organisations.”
The presenter is currently the BBC’s highest-paid star, earning £1.75million in the 2019/2020 financial year.