Carr tweets grovelling apology over tax
Comic tells 2.3m followers that he was wrong
Friday 22 June 2012 COMEDIAN Jimmy Carr has apologised for avoiding tax in a high-profile victory for the UK government and Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs in the war on legal loopholes.
After being exposed as part of the Jersey-based K2 scheme, which is under investigation by HMRC, and seeing his accounting branded as “morally wrong” by Prime Minister David Cameron, Carr took to Twitter – where he has also come in for heavy criticism – to declare his mea culpa.
He told his 2.3 million Twitter followers: “I met with a financial adviser and he said to me ‘Do you want to pay less tax? It’s totally legal’. I said ‘Yes’.
“I now realise I’ve made a terrible error of judgment… I’m no longer involved in it and will in future conduct my financial affairs much more responsibly.”
Carr used an aggressive – but not illegal – tax-avoidance scheme which reportedly enables members to pay income tax rates as low as 1 per cent.
The comic, who has made jokes at the expense of fat-cat bankers, reportedly protects £3.3 million a year by channelling cash through K2.
He is said to be one of more than 1,000 beneficiaries who shelter some £168m from the taxman each year.
Chancellor George Osborne ramped up the pressure on tax avoidance by describing it as “morally repugnant” in his March Budget.
The comic was teased mercilessly about his situation during the recording of the 8outof10 Cats panel show, which he hosts, last night. Team captain Sean Lock told Carr: “We all like to put