Jeremy Paxman, Anne Robinson, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Guy Ritchie and dozens of other celebrities invested up to £1.4m each
Dozens of Britain's highest paid celebrities and business chiefs have been caught up in an investigation into an alleged tax avoidance scheme.
England soccer stars Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard, BBC presenters Jeremy Paxman and Anne Robinson, film-maker Guy Ritchie, pop star Peter Gabriel and Labour peer Lord Hollick were among those who pumped money into a fund that exploited a legal loophole giving tax benefits to those investing in the film industry.
Documents seen by The Mail on Sunday suggest they invested sums ranging from £160,000 to £1.4million. Some other investors have already received tax demands for tens of thousands of pounds - big investors may face bills of more than £1million.
Under a policy set up by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor, investors could slash their tax bills if they backed the film industry. Around £2billion a year was subsequently invested in film funding schemes.
However, HM Revenue & Customs officials now believe that at least one £75million investment fund used by celebrities might have been aimed primarily at avoiding tax and not bolstering the British film industry, so was against the rules.
Stars were partners in schemes run by finance company Ingenious Media, founded by chairman Patrick McKenna. The company has raised about £5billion to put into films over the past decade, including such hits as Avatar and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Night At The Museum.
The celebrities' names were officially recorded at Companies House, where the partnerships are registered.
More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-loophole.html
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Dozens of Britain's highest paid celebrities and business chiefs have been caught up in an investigation into an alleged tax avoidance scheme.
England soccer stars Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard, BBC presenters Jeremy Paxman and Anne Robinson, film-maker Guy Ritchie, pop star Peter Gabriel and Labour peer Lord Hollick were among those who pumped money into a fund that exploited a legal loophole giving tax benefits to those investing in the film industry.
Documents seen by The Mail on Sunday suggest they invested sums ranging from £160,000 to £1.4million. Some other investors have already received tax demands for tens of thousands of pounds - big investors may face bills of more than £1million.
Under a policy set up by Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor, investors could slash their tax bills if they backed the film industry. Around £2billion a year was subsequently invested in film funding schemes.
However, HM Revenue & Customs officials now believe that at least one £75million investment fund used by celebrities might have been aimed primarily at avoiding tax and not bolstering the British film industry, so was against the rules.
Stars were partners in schemes run by finance company Ingenious Media, founded by chairman Patrick McKenna. The company has raised about £5billion to put into films over the past decade, including such hits as Avatar and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Night At The Museum.
The celebrities' names were officially recorded at Companies House, where the partnerships are registered.
More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-loophole.html
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