PAYBACK TIME

BBC stars ‘may face tax bills’ after TV newsreader loses £420k contract row

A FORMER BBC presenter faces a £420,000 bill after losing a legal battle with the taxman – a blow which could hit other stars.

Christa Ackroyd and HMRC had been locked in a five-year dispute over the nature of her Beeb contract and whether she had paid too little tax.

She was one of a number of people who worked at the Corporation via a personal service company, meaning she was self-employed.

Now a ruling in HMRC’S favour may see other presenters having to pay back big sums.

Telly favourites including Fiona Bruce and Jeremy Paxman have both said in the past they had been “required” by the BBC to have service companies.

Others previously reported to have used similar arrangements include Chris Moyles, Sophie Raworth, Emily Maitlis and Joanna Gosling. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

Ms Ackroyd, 60, presented the Yorkshire news programme Look North from 2001 until 2013, when she was fired over an alleged contract breach.

HMRC demanded unpaid taxes because it said she was, in reality, a BBC employee and not allowed tax breaks. A tribunal heard she was employed via two fixed-term contracts agreed between the BBC and her personal service company, Christa Ackroyd Media Ltd (CAM).

HMRC argued that CAM was liable for income tax and national insurance, whereas Ms Ackroyd claimed she was a self-employed contractor.

Ruling against her, the tribunal said HMRC had “never suggested” she was a tax cheat or had acted dishonestly. It also acknowledged she had taken professional advice and been “encouraged” by the BBC to use a service company. HMRC says Ms Ackroyd is liable for a total of £419,151, a figure she says is £207,000.

The tribunal said the parties had 42 days to reach agreement on the figure or seek a further ruling. Ms Ackroyd said the case had ended “five horrendous years of innuendo and gossip” over her finances.

She said: “The contract issued by the BBC has been deemed a contract of employment rather than freelance and is subject to different tax rules. That it has taken five years is an indication of the complexity of the legislation.”

The BBC said paying Ms Ackroyd via CAM was “standard industry practice at the time” when she was taken on.