DIY SOS STAR’S TAXMAN IOU Nick Knowles facing six-figure bill
NICK Knowles faces a six-figure bill as one of hundreds of BBC presenters being investigated for tax avoidance.
The DIY SOS, 55, star is said to be among a raft of big names whose affairs are being probed by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.
At least 100 past and present BBC figures are under investigation and the Daily Star Sunday has learned Nick is one of them.
A source told us: “I know his first tax instalment will be around £60k – and that’s just for starters.”
TV hosts were able to minimise their tax bills by using personal service companies to register as self-employed.
A HMRC source said: “This is an important marker for employees who were using personal service companies as a device to pay much lower tax.”
It is the latest blow for Nick, who was last month embroiled in a public divorce battle with his estranged wife Jessica Rose Moor, 30.
She accused him of pulling funding for their three-year-old son Eddie’s private school education. Nick is now dating Rebecca Kearns, 25, while Jessica is seeing RAF engineer William Babbage, 27.
The source added: “To be honest this couldn’t come at a worse time for Nick and his bank balance.”
HMRC recently won a tax tribunal it brought against BBC newsreader Christa Ackroyd, 60, who earned more than Prime Minister Theresa May as co-host of the regional Look North programme on BBC One.
She was paid as a freelancer through her own personal services company – CAM – at the TV station’s request. But HMRC said her contract meant she should have paid the same level of tax as an employee and owes £419,151.
A BBC spokesman revealed paying Ms Ackroyd via CAM was “standard industry practice at the time” when she was taken on in 2001.
They said: “The BBC was not party to this case and as was standard industry practice at the time the individual was engaged as a freelancer in 2001 and paid via their existing company.
“Until last year it was for individuals with service companies rather than those engaging them to determine their status for tax purposes.
“The use of personal service companies is entirely legitimate and common practice across the industry as it provides flexibility for both individuals and organisations.”
In the ruling against her, the tax tribunal said: “We understand that the present appeal is one of a number of other appeals involving television presenters and personal service companies.”
It added that HMRC had “never suggested” she acted dishonestly: “She took professional advice in relation to her contract with the BBC and was encouraged by them to contract through a personal service company.”
A spokesman for HMRC said: “We do not comment on any identifiable individuals.”
Spokesmen for Nick and the BBC both declined to comment on his tax affairs.