Sabtu, 23 Juni 2012

England Euro 2012 stars in tax loophole row

England Euro 2012 stars in tax loophole row

By Alex Hawkes And Jon Rees

PUBLISHED: 15:46 EST, 23 June 2012 | UPDATED: 15:46 EST, 23 June 2012


Eight of England’s likely starting line-up against Italy in Euro 2012 have put their money in investment schemes that provide a loophole to beat the taxman.

The scale of tax planning by the footballers follows the disclosure today that billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson and advertising guru Sir Martin Sorrell have been some of the biggest contributors to an investment scheme operated by Ingenious Media.

Sorrell recently wrote in the Financial Times that if the Government did not like the scale of his remuneration, it should tax him.

The England team lines up before playing Ukraine at Euro 2012

A united front: The England team lines up before playing Ukraine at Euro 2012

The investment schemes are all legal, but Revenue Customs has challenged some of them in the courts. The revelations come amid heightened public concern over tax planning by the wealthy.

England striker Wayne Rooney was an investor in film partnerships put together by Ingenious Media. Rooney also put his money into Waverton Property LLP, an investment in a Birmingham data centre. Fellow Manchester United star Danny Welbeck also invested in the Waverton scheme, as did goalkeeper Joe Hart.

The plan’s promoter, Harcourt Capital, has insisted there is genuine commercial risk in the Waverton investment â€" meaning the huge tax reliefs that allow investors to get their money back on day one are all validly claimed.

Captain Steven Gerrard and midfielder Scott Parker put money into Ingenious Media film plans, as did defender Joleon Lescott.

Full-backs Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole invested in plans put together by Future Films, another financing group that has seen its schemes challenged by the Revenue.

The taxman ultimately lost a legal battle to deny reliefs in the schemes that Johnson and Cole invested in. A spokesman for the footballers said the scheme deferred tax, rather than avoided it.

The new England manager, Roy Hodgson, put money into a separate Harcourt Capital scheme that bought a data centre in the North East as part of a plan to take advantage of enterprise zone tax reliefs. Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker, who will host coverage of tonight’s game on BBC, was also an investor in several of the Ingenious Media plans. Lineker’s spokesman declined to comment.

There is no suggestion that any of the investors have incorrectly claimed tax relief or misled Revenue Customs.

Enlarge   How Financial Mail revealed loopholes for the wealthy

All of the plans work by allowing the stars to offset their share of upfront capital investments incurred by the partnerships in which they were involved. But those losses were often many times larger than the total sum of cash invested, enabling the stars to get tax rebates larger than their stakes.

The taxman has challenged schemes put together by Ingenious and Future on various grounds, trying to limit the amount of tax reliefs claimed.

It is not known whether any of these individuals invested in schemes that have been challenged.

The schemes involve investors buying rights to a film, which they then lease back to the studio for a number of years. This creates a loss in the scheme’s first year, which gives the investor 12 tax-free months in which to make other investments. Lease payments from the studio are taxable.

Ingenious Media last week said it was ‘not in the business of tax avoidance’. A spokesman said: ‘All our activities are bona fide commercial ventures, as evidenced by the film profits we have generated for investors.’ Future Films declined to comment.

Nick Astaire, the financier behind the Cobalt and Waverton data centre investments, said: ‘Our funds have enabled investors to purchase a direct equity investment in real estate developments in parts of the country where the Government is seeking to boost growth.’

The other England football stars declined to comment, as did Sorrell. Dyson said the scheme was legal and merely deferred tax rather  than avoided it.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

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I've got a tax loophole, its round my neck and very tight

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Aggressive tax schemes only work because there is a vehicle, like a Jersey company, somewhere in the device. For the Treasury Minister of Jersey to deny any responsibility and say that it is not the island’s problem ignores the central role that offshore plays. It may all be devised in London, with London clients and London legal teams, yet implementation through Jersey or similar has to occur.

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surely it is right to look ar whether there is an explanation as to why you would adopt a scheme. If there is no reasin other than tax avoidance then it is tax evasion.

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I do not know why Osbourne dropped th top rate of income Tax to %45 because it looks like no one pays it any way its only the mugs on the lower rate that pay tax..

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All salaries should be taxed at the same rate no matter what your income and the said tax loopholes should be closed off and made illegal. If you earn £20000 a year or £5000000 the same rate of tax should apply.I know i am right.

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Be honest if we had the chance earnings we'd do it ourselves. Providing a tax "loophole" is legal then I see no problem, the issue is that it's wealthy individuals who can afford the advice that benefit and not the working man/woman. Its upto the Government to intervene and decide if its simply personal gain, if so create a tax ruling that applies where individuals benefit, unless it means providing employment to others (UK nationals, not overseas nationals). I'm sure something like this could be done, these "loopholes" may not be then so beneficial to footballers and the like.

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Take 20p off every pound paid . Notice I said paid not earned there is a difference. The 20p off every pound starts after you have been paid £12000. This way everybody pays up whether you are a low paid PAYE or a multi millionaire. This has to be mandatory no get outs or dodging. Simples. Not worth paying out a fortune to avoid payment. Everyone a winner!

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AND SOME OF THESE 'SCHEMES' DO GO BUST,AS WE KNOW WHEREVER YOU LOOK AND GO IT'S ALL ABOUT NICKING MONEY OFF PEOPLE TODAY!

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If the investment schemes are all legal, as stated in the article text, then thats the fault of the government(s) not managing the HM revenue customs correctly.

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Again I fair to see the complexity. Every individual on that team earns a sum of money at some point paid by an employer. Whoever is paying the wage should take tax off at that point. Lets see if they want to invest in homes with their remaining money. I doubt it very much. It sickens me and why is nothing being done about it? YOU EARN X, YOU PAY X% AS TAX END OF!!!!

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