A BBC presenter faces a court battle with the taxman over an alleged “excessive” unpaid tax bill.
The HMRC claims the famous broadcaster did not pay income tax and National Insurance on cash he earned from the Beeb over a two-year period.
They claim between 2013 and 2015 veteran BBC Radio 2 host Jeremy Vine was paid through his own company – Jelly Vine Productions – for his work on Radio 2 and other TV shows.
Although this is not illegal, the HMRC believes the talk show host “performed services for the BBC” and should “be treated for the purposes for income tax and National Insurance contributions as an employee”.
It is not known how much Vine is alleged to owe but the sum is “estimated and excessive”, as reported by the Daily Mail.
And, the National Insurance Contributions for 2015/2016 alone are estimated at £20,000.
Documents revealed the star has been locked in a seven-year battle with the taxman.
The court paperwork confirmed the contract between Jelly Vine Productions and the BBC stemmed from July 1 2013 to December 30, 2015.
“In respect of four productions: the Jeremy Vine Show a weekday programme on Radio 2, election coverage, Eggheads (quiz show) and Points of View,” it read.
“All apart from Eggheads are produced by BBC Studios with Eggheads produced by 12 Yard Studios,” it added.
Vine has appealed the accusations and claimed in a preliminary issues hearing that the HMRC’s allegations are “premature” and “invalid”.
The popular disc jockey raked in up to £749,999 between 2016 and 2017.
Meanwhile, salary figures the following year showed a dip to £499,999.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We appreciate there’s a real person behind every case and are committed to treating all taxpayers with respect.
“We seek to resolve cases as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, in accordance with the law.”
Mr Vine’s team was contacted for comment.
It comes as the HMRC has chased several fellow TV stars in their crackdown.
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker was previously targeted for £4.9million after the taxman claimed he owed on his income between 2013 and 2018.
THE IR35 rule is also known as off-payroll working
The rules apply if a worker provides services to a client through their own company, service or agent.
And, if a worker would have been an employee if they were providing their services directly to that client.
It affects all contractors who do not meet the HMRC’s definition of self-employed.
The rules are designed to stop contractors working as ‘disguised employees’.
If you are working ‘outside’ IR35 and take dividends from your company, you run the risk of being on the receiving end of an IR35 enquiry.
This is an investigation where HMRC review your circumstances and decide whether or not the correct amount of tax has been paid.
If they decide that you are a ‘disguised employee’, you will be effectively ordered to back all income tax and NI you would have paid if you were an employee.
They alleged he should have been classed as an employee of the BBC and BT Sport for presenting duties, rather than as a freelancer.
But, the beloved pundit won his case.
Meanwhile, a devastated Eamonn Holmes previously said “they’ve taken everything” after he was forced to sell his Belfast home over a £250,000 bill.
After losing two appeals against the HMRC, in which the former This Morning host forked out “hundreds of thousands of pounds” to settle legal fees, Eamonn was ordered to pay the huge sum.
A tribunal in 2020 ruled he was employed by ITV while hosting This Morning, not working as a freelancer.
Tax officials ordered the GB News host to pay a decades worth of backdated National Insurance and tax payments.
And, Lorraine Kelly previously won her case over a £1.2 million tax bill after a judge described her as her own boss and not an ITV employee.
TOP ITV stars face losing a small fortune in an HMRC crackdown
Bosses have been told to treat them as staff on PAYE instead of paying them via service companies — potentially doubling tax bills.
It means instead of corporation tax at 19 per cent, they will pay 40 per cent on earnings between £50,271 and £150,000 plus National Insurance.
The “IR35” rule also means employers would have to pay backdated tax rather than the employees.
A source said: “It’s caused chaos at ITV and meant a total overhaul of the stars’ payment system.”
Tax expert Dave Chaplin said ITV is keen to move its stars to PAYE so HMRC does not challenge its existing pay arrangements, exposing it to having to pay back-dated tax bills.
Big broadcasting names Gary Lineker and Adrian Chiles have previously been told by the taxman to go on PAYE.
And Anne Robinson quit as host of Channel 4’s Countdown last week when the show’s makers Lifted Entertainment — part of ITV Studios — said she must go PAYE.
It offered her a pay increase to offset her tax loss but she “wasn’t interested in any offer on that basis”.
ITV said IR35 means that it — rather than an individual or their personal service company — has responsibility for assessing if a role is employed or self-employed for tax purposes.
It added: “ITV updated its contracting policy and communicated the change to all those concerned.
“Our assessments are done on a case-by-case basis.”
