Monday, May 27, 2013

Gordon in the morning: Tax it like Rupert

Gordon raises a curious eyebrow at Keira Knightley's tax arrangements this morning:

FOR an actress famous for playing posh girls, KEIRA KNIGHTLEY lives a pretty frugal life.
Accounts just released show that despite being one of the highest-earning actresses in the world, the star paid herself just £30,000 last year.

That’s a long way from her total earnings.

Keira’s firm Kck Boo Ltd banked £1.5million through her films and commercial deals with fashion firms.

And the details show she has cut down on spending outside of her salary, too.
A source said: “Keira took home £20,000 in dividends from the company in 2012 and a salary of £11,000.'
Ah, yes. We should all take a close look at the extraordinary lengths Knightley's gone to avoid paying her fair share of tax - although, of course, she's not the only one.

Perhaps tomorrow Gordon might like to raise his curious eyebrow at this chart:

But maybe it's different when it's the boss, eh?


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does setting up a company and having it pay for your bodyguard really qualify as "extraordinary lengths"?
Wouldn't you at least need some off-shore accounts and some dodgy investments?

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

Maybe they're just lengths, then? I suppose if you can afford to pay for an accountant, and set the costs of the accountant against tax, then it's not so extraordinary. Maybe 'disappointing' was the word I was thinking of.

Eddie C said...

I don't see anything in the story which suggests she's avoiding paying her fair share of tax. If the profit stays in her company because she doesn't pay it to herself, the company pays corporation tax on the profit. When she decides to pay herself whatever reserves the company has, she pays the income tax on it. Unless she enters into a tax avoidance scheme, and there's no suggestion she is, she will end up paying the right amount of tax in the long run whether she had a company or not.

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

If you hold half a million pounds in a business account for ten years, what tax do you pay on the interest?

If you hold half a million pounds in a personal account for ten years, what tax do you pay on the interest?

Clue: one will be taxed at 20% and one would be taxed at 45%.

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