John Humphrys left 'puzzled' by the way BBC colleagues are paid

 
5 October 2012

The BBC came under growing pressure over tax avoidance by its stars today, as one of its top presenters said he was “puzzled” by the way that other famous colleagues were paid.

John Humphrys said he did not understand why the corporation claimed it needed to pay its leading figures through personal service companies when he chose to get his wages as an ordinary freelance.

These companies can cut a person’s tax bill by allowing them to pay corporation tax of 21 per cent, instead of top-rate income tax, on their earnings. National insurance charges can also be lower.

MPs accused the BBC of “staggeringly inappropriate” conduct following the revelation that it pays about 4,500 people, including 1,500 major figures, via such companies. Among them are Fiona Bruce and Jeremy Paxman. Both say the BBC made them set up the companies as a condition of their employment.

However, Humphrys, quizzing the BBC’s head of employment tax, David Smith, on Radio 4’s Today programme, said: “I am puzzled.

I am a freelance, I don’t have one of these companies.”

Mr Smith said the BBC paid stars in line with rules set by the taxman. He also insisted that the schemes did not help the BBC pay lower tax.

A separate report, in The Times, claimed BBC Watchdog presenter Ann Robinson used Jersey-based tax avoidance scheme Liberty to save about £4 million of earnings. The report said b out 2,000 people, including Take That members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, had used the scheme.

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