Luvvie who rails against rich owns ‘tax efficient’ f irm
SOCIALIST actress Maxine Peake, who accused the Tories of giving tax handouts to the rich, has a company registered with a ‘ tax efficient’ accountant.
The Silk star, who savaged the Conservatives’ policies in a Labour election broadcast, is sole director and shareholder of Flat Cap Limited.
The company, which has £145,000 in the bank, deals with payments for her acting, writing and directing – an arrangement that can slash tax bills.
There is nothing illegal in being paid via a limited company, but fees channelled through one can be declared as company profits. That means they are subject to corporation tax of around 20 per cent instead of income tax of up to 45 per cent. Costs can also be offset against earnings, which further reduces the tax liability.
Flat Cap Limited’s registered address is the office of accountancy firm Creasey Alexander & Co, which provides regular newsletters about tax tips on its website.
The revelations come after Miss Peake, 42, railed against the Conservatives’ tax record in a Labour Party political broadcast. ‘The Tories have spent the past seven years giving the super-rich tax handouts of tens of billions of pounds, while working families are set to be an average of £1,400 a year worse off,’ she said.
She insisted Labour was the only hope for a ‘fresh start’ that would build a country for the many, not the few.
The actress, who is currently starring in BBC drama Three Girls, about the Rochdale grooming and abuse scandal, has been a long-time supporter of Left-wing causes.
In 2014 she received the Outstanding Contribution to Socialism Award from the Socialist Club in her home town of Bolton. The former against him. Many selfemployed people, including actors, set up ‘personal service companies’ as a vehicle for them to be paid.
Doing so can make being selfemployed administratively more straightforward.
But it can also offer legal tax advantages because it means pay is not taxed at source.
Depending how the company is operated, it can mean the user does not have to pay class 1 National Insurance contributions. Money drawn down as a dividend rather than salary is not subject to income tax.