BBC’S messy tax deals ‘still need untangling’

THE BBC has failed to untangle the “mess” it made of presenters’ tax affairs, MPS said yesterday, as the National Audit Office found that 800 presenters could yet face hefty tax demands.

Over the past seven years, the BBC has paid about £700 million via personal service companies for presenters and backroom staff, according to an NAO report.

The corporation has been embroiled in controversy since it emerged that it had pressured presenters into setting up personal service companies, depriving them of employment rights while allowing the BBC to avoid paying millions in National Insurance contributions. Many presenters were then pursued by HMRC.

Last year, HMRC transferred responsibility for ensuring the correct tax was paid from the personal service company to the BBC, leaving freelance staff facing further demands.

An NAO report said 800 presenters could potentially be asked to pay back tax, with HMRC currently investigating 100.

Meg Hillier MP, the chairman of the public accounts committee, said: “[We] raised concerns about the BBC’S use of personal service companies six years ago. It is worrying that, six years on, the mess of clarifying the employment status for tax purposes of people the BBC hires through PSCS has not been fully untangled.”

The BBC told the NAO it paid bridging loans to three people, totalling £2,550, and had contributed £12,000 in book-keeping fees to 33 people with personal service companies. A BBC spokesman said: “We recognise there are still issues to address and remain committed to resolving them.”