Actor Rupert Grint has lost his legal battle against HM Revenue & Customs for a £1m tax refund after a tax tribunal judge threw out his appeal to shelter his earnings from the top tax rate.
The actor, who played the character of Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, tried to recoup around £1m by using the old 40 per cent top tax band, as opposed to the new 50 per cent rate which was introduced in April 2010.
According to court documents, Mr Grint had taken advice from tax advisers Clay & Associates to alter his accounting period so 20 months of income would be taxed in the 2009-2010 financial year.
This meant he would have escaped paying 50 per cent tax on eight months’ worth of income, which was due in the tax year 2010-2011.
It was clear he placed his faith in his father and accountants to deal with his financial affairs. Judge MosedaleJudge Mosedale said this date change was advantageous because it would result in a saving of 10 per cent of the income.
But she pointed out it was no part of HMRC’s case that Mr Grint was involved in tax avoidance, adding the dispute was solely concerned about whether he had acted within the meaning of the legislation.
“This appeal, as the appellant said, concerned a purely technical point,” she said.
“However, HMRC are entitled to take, as taxpayers are, technical points. And I found on this technical point, the appellant’s appeal fails.”
According to the judge, the Harry Potter actor, who is thought to have earned around £24m from the franchise, was not entirely responsible for his own witness statement.
“It appeared at least in part to have been written in the third person and Mr Grint accepted that he did not write it ‘completely’ and indicated he relied heavily on his advisers.”
She also said it was “clear that he placed his faith in his father and accountants to deal with his financial affairs”.
At the tribunal, which took place between the 27 and 29 June, Judge Mosedale dismissed the appeal and ruled in favour of HMRC.
katherine.denham@ft.com
