LOVE Island star Joey Essex is facing a battle with the taxman over alleged unpaid bills.
His performing arts firm, Joey Essex Management, has been served a winding up petition by HMRC.
It means the taxman wants to shut down the company in order to recover as much of the alleged tax debt as possible.
Joey’s company has failed to file accounts since 2018, when it had reserves of nearly £486,000.
But since that paperwork was published the company has not filed any more detailed financial information – meaning five years of records are missing.
Towie star Joey, 33, is the only director and shareholder of the company – meaning he will be facing mounting fines from Companies House due to its accounts being years behind.
The winding-up petition means he also now faces a potentially costly and embarrassing High Court case against HMRC.
Joey has three other active companies – JDE Property Limited, which is worth £100 – and two new businesses.
They are Fusey Productions Limited and The Top TT Limited, which were set up in 2023 and have yet to file accounts.
Joey has caused a stir since arriving in the Love Island villa in Majorca, where he is coupled up with Jessy Potts, 25.
He has been accused of bullying after repeatedly clashing with his ex Grace Jackson, 25.
Joey applied to go on the show himself – telling The Sun before he entered: “I’ve always wanted to go on Love Island and I’ve known Mike Spencer (Love Island creative director) since the very first day I started my journey into TV on The Only Way Is Essex.
“It felt like the right time to give the Villa a shot, so I called Mike to ask him if I could apply and he said go for it.”
Joey’s rep was approached for comment.
Love Island is back on the box with a batch of sexy islanders all looking for love this summer.
The Girls
The Boys
Dumped:
Quit: