Jimmy Carr is 'morally wrong' on tax, says David Cameron

 

Suggested Topics

Prime Minister David Cameron today branded comedian Jimmy Carr "morally wrong" for seeking to avoid taxes.

Media reports of Carr's tax arrangements suggest he is undertaking "straightforward tax avoidance", said the Prime Minister.

And he said it was unfair on the people who pay to watch the comic perform that he is not paying his taxes in the same way that they do.

Speaking to ITV News during a round of TV interviews during his trip to Mexico, the PM said: "I think some of these schemes - and I think particularly of the Jimmy Carr scheme - I have had time to read about and I just think this is completely wrong.

"People work hard, they pay their taxes, they save up to go to one of his shows. They buy the tickets. He is taking the money from those tickets and he, as far as I can see, is putting all of that into some very dodgy tax avoiding schemes.

"That is wrong. There is nothing wrong with people planning their tax affairs to invest in their pension and plan for their retirement - that sort of tax management is fine.

"But some of these schemes we have seen are quite frankly morally wrong.

"The Government is acting by looking at a general anti-avoidance law but we do need to make progress on this.

"It is not fair on hard working people who do the right thing and pay their taxes to see these sorts of scams taking place."

Carr is said to have used an aggressive - but legal - tax-avoidance scheme which enables members to pay income tax rates as low as 1%.

The comic, who has famously lampooned fat cat bankers, reportedly protects some £3.3 million a year by channelling cash through Jersey-based company K2.

He spoke out over the claims during a show in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, last night, reportedly saying: "I pay what I have to and not a penny more."

Carr is said to be one of more than 1,000 beneficiaries who shelter some £168 million from the taxman each year using K2. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said the K2 scheme was already under investigation.

It has also been alleged that Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Take That manager Jonathan Wild had invested at least £26 million in a scheme run by Icebreaker Management Services.

HMRC said they have already successfully challenged an scheme run by Icebreaker 1 LLP, winning on the main arguments in the tribunals.

But Icebreaker Management Services maintained today that they work "within the law".

A HMRC spokesman said: "This type of scheme will fail where there is circular borrowing which serves no economic purpose or which cannot, in fact, be used in a trade.

"We are now preparing to litigate Icebreaker 2 but for legal reasons cannot say more at this time.

"We examine the implementation of avoidance schemes in detail and will not let any aspect of these cases go unchallenged."

He added: "We have taken firm action to protect the exchequer from unacceptable tax loss.

"We do not accept that the Icebreaker tax avoidance schemes have the tax effects their promoters claim - we have already successfully challenged one Icebreaker scheme in the tribunal."

They would not confirm whether or not members of Take That and their manager had been involved in an Icebreaker 2 scheme. Barlow, Donald, Owen and Wild are among almost 1,000 people who contributed £480 million to 62 partnerships in music industry investment schemes, The Times reported.

However, Icebreaker Management Services stressed that it was operating within the law.

A spokesman for the firm said: "The Icebreaker LLPs are all commercial businesses, in which the LLP members work actively together in order to produce creative and artistic material and generate taxable profits.

"As a result, hundreds of people have been, and can continue to be, employed in the creative industries and large numbers of products have been made for distribution and sale around the world.

"We believe that the Icebreaker LLPs play a valuable part in the UK economy, frequently fostering and supporting creative talent and young people embarking on their careers.

"Icebreaker Management Services Limited recognises the need for the proper administration and collection of taxes, and that it is essential that anyone who seeks to make use of tax relief does so properly and within the law.

"Abuse of the tax system for personal gain is, of course, never acceptable."

Writing in The Sun newspaper, Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander warned stars and others who employ "ever more obscure and underhand" avoidance measures: "No matter how rich or famous you are, we are coming to get you.

"When it comes to paying their fair share, some of the people who can afford it most think they can get away with paying the least.

"Frankly, I think people who dodge the tax system are the moral equivalent of benefit cheats. Both sets of people think they can bend the rules everyone else lives by for their own benefit."

PA

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Top stories
News in pictures
World news in pictures
UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures
More stories
       
Independent
Travel Shop
Lake Como and the Bernina Express
Seven nights half-board from £749pp Find out more
Dubrovnik and the Dalmatian coast
Seven nights half-board from only £859pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from only £199pp Find out more
 
Independent Dating
and  

By clicking 'Search' you
are agreeing to our
Terms of Use.

iJobs Job Widget
iJobs General

FX Options Front Office Java / C# Developer

£500 - £600 per day: Orgtel: FX Options Front Office Java / C# Developer - Ba...

Project Manager - Front Office - Regulatory IT

£600 - £700 per day: Orgtel: Project Manager - Front Office - Regulatory IT C...

Lighting Design Engineer

£33000 - £35000 Per Annum: The Green Recruitment Company: The Green Recruitmen...

Are you an Primary NQT looking for your first role in Essex?

£21000 - £22000 per annum: Randstad Education Chelmsford: NQTs required now fo...

Day In a Page

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong': The true effect of the badger cull

The true effect of the badger cull

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong'
Theatre review: Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's The Cripple of Inishmaan

First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan

Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's comedy
Girls Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

After 103 years, organisation changes oath to welcome 'all girls, of all faiths, and none'
Steve Tongue: Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago

Steve Tongue

Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago
Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Bradley Wiggins' exit

Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Wiggins' exit

Sky's lead rider says he is in fantastic form for the Tour and happy pecking order debate is over
Hannah England: I've got the right times – now to focus on the chess

Hannah England: Keeping Track

I've got the right times – now to focus on the chess
Beards, brawn and body art

Beards, brawn and body art

Meet London’s new batch of male models
Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

British love of shows such as The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing shows no sign of fading
Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?

The Great Green Wall of Africa,

Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?
Laughter Inc: the cheering growth of the chuckle industry

Laughter Inc

The cheering growth of the chuckle industry
The bad science scandal: how fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research

The bad science scandal

How fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research
To the manor born: The female aristocrats battling to inherit the title

Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title

A passionate protest is gathering pace among the women of Britain's aristocracy, who believe that men should no longer automatically inherit the family pile and title.
Love struck: Photographs of JFK's visit to Berlin 50 years ago reveal a nation instantly smitten

In pictures: JFK's visit to Berlin in 1963

Photographer Ulrich Mack accompanied Kennedy on the entire trip. The results are an astonishing record of a watershed moment.
Eat shoots and leaves: Mark Hix gets creative with fresh peas, mangetouts and sugar snaps

Mark Hix gets creative with English peas

English peas and their offsprings, such as mangetouts and sugar snaps, are great tossed into a salad, says our chef.
Ceviche with a smile: Chef Martin Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends

Chef Martin Morales: Ceviche with a smile

Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends