Hardly loose change... Kaye’s £125k victory against taxman

LOOSE Women star Kaye Adams has claimed victory in a long-running battle with the taxman.

The 58-year-old TV and radio host had been embroiled in a dispute with HMRC over her employment status.

Miss Adams, who presents her own show on BBC Radio Scotland and writes in various newspapers and magazines, had won an earlier fight, insisting she was a freelance worker and a tribunal ruled in her favour in 2019. Tax officials had claimed she was an employee and owed thousands in unpaid duty.

HMRC appealed the ruling, insisting she should pay more than £81,000 in tax and £44,000 in National Insurance from work for the BBC.

An upper-tier tribunal hearing has now upheld the original ruling, which covers the tax years of 2015-16 and 2016-17. The judges accepted she worked for the BBC through her company, Atholl House Productions Ltd.

She also showed evidence she was paid for appearances on Loose Women on a ‘show for show’ basis.

Miss Adams, originally from Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, said: ‘I am delighted the upper tribunal has reaffirmed the finding of the first-tier tribunal which confirmed my status as a freelance worker. I hope we can now consider this matter closed.’

Mr Justice Marcus Smith and Judge Jonathan Richards said in a written ruling that her range of work meant she could be classed as freelance, saying: ‘Miss Adams would have been entering into business on her own account’.

HMRC had tried to use a directive which clamps down on ‘disguised’ employment. A spokesman said: ‘HMRC will carefully consider the outcome of the tribunal before deciding whether or not to appeal.’