Tax - Inland Revenue targets celebrities

It was reported in today´s Sunday Times that the HM Revenue and Customs is mounting a test case against Richard and Judy that may set a precedent for television presenters, authors and footballers. The argment, it appears, is that these people´s agents´fees should not be able to be written off against tax. There is also a suggestion that if the Revenue is successful it may claim back up to six years of unpaid tax even though people had following existing guidelines in good faith.

On its face this appears to be an attempt to add another stealth tax which will hit the poorest (eg struggling writers) the hardest.