HMRC’s ‘war’ on TV presenters: Charlie Stayt becomes latest star facing battle after Lorraine Kelly, Gary Lineker and Kaye Adams won their fights against the taxman – but Eamonn Holmes lost

BBC Breakfast star Charlie Stayt is believed to have become the latest TV presenter targeted by HMRC.

The morning show host, 41, and his wife Annie Breckell, were reportedly been served by the taxman with a petition over their firm on Monday.

It means the couple have become the latest in a list of high profile televisions hosts to face a battle with HMRC, after the likes of Lorraine Kelly, Gary Lineker, Kaye Adams and Eamonn Holmes all ended up in court in recent years.

Their cases came as the government cracks down on people who claim to be self-employed when they are in effect working as employees of a company – something that sees them pay less in tax than they should.

This has had varying degrees of success, with Kelly, Lineker and Adams all winning their battles with the government body, although Holmes was defeated and forced to sell his home to pay.

It is reported that Stayt has come into conflict with HMRC over his company Stayt Limited, of which he and his wife Annie are listed as directors alongside Hogbens Dunphy Secretaries, an accountants and tax consultants based in central London.

The firm, which describes itself as being involved in ‘television programming and broadcasting activities’, was £6,409 in the red according to accounts filed last December.

The filing of a petition could threaten their idyllic family life. 

The couple bought their Twickenham home in 2002 for £800,000. It has now sky-rocketed in value to as much as £2.3million.

They have been together for more than 20 years and have two children, Pheobe and Jake, who are both grown up. It is believed that they still live at home with their parents, Hello! reported.

Their battle with the taxman differs from other recent clashes between HMRC and TV presenters.

Other hosts were targeted by the government department over accusations they had not paid enough tax.

Among those in the firing line were Gary Lineker, Lorraine Kelly, Kaye Adams and Eammon Holmes, who were alleged to have underpaid by millions.

However, despite having the full force of the government behind it, HMRC’s results have been mixed to say the least, with Lineker, Kelly and Adams all winning their cases – some of which dragged on the better part of a decade – against the taxman in court. 

It comes as the government cracks down on tax avoidance using legislation known as IR35, designed to clamp down on tax avoidance by so-called ‘disguised employees’, who charge for their services via limited companies.

The rules see all contractors that do not meet HMRC’s definition of self-employment taxed at a similar rate to normal employees. 

Among the most high profile of these cases involved Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, who was chased by the tax authorities for £4.9million it claimed should have been paid on income received between 2013 and 2018.

The taxman claimed that Lineker should have been classed as an employee of the BBC and BT Sport for his presenting duties, rather than as a freelancer.

Throughout proceedings the presenter, 62, insisted all taxes were paid on the income via a partnership set up in 2012 with his ex-wife Danielle Bux.

A tax judge came down on his side in court, ruling that the IR35 legislation did not apply because  were direct contracts between the presenter and both the BBC and BT Sport.

The tribunal found that while Gary Lineker Media (GLM), which he set up with his then wife in 2012, was a partnership to which IR35 legislation applies, the appeal was still dismissed in full because contracts existed. 

Speaking at the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax) in London, Judge John Brook in March 2023: ‘As a matter of law, when Mr Lineker signed the 2013 BBC Contract, the 2015 BBC Contract and the BT Sport Contract for the provision of his services, he did so as principal thereby contracting directly with the BBC and BT Sport.

‘As such, the intermediaries legislation cannot apply – it is only applicable ‘where services are provided not under a contract directly between client and the worker’.

‘In this case Mr Lineker’s services were provided under direct contracts with the BBC and BT Sport.

‘Although such a conclusion might appear inconsistent with my conclusions that the intermediaries legislation can apply to partnerships… that is not the case.’

James Rivett KC, Lineker’s representative earlier said in court that there was a ‘policy of looking at people in the media’ at HMRC, before criticising its lawyers for laughing at suggestions there was a political element to their enquiries.

He said: ‘This is just a panto laugh. My client has been dragged through the papers accused of not paying income tax which has been paid.’ 

An HMRC spokesperson said at the time: ‘The tribunal has confirmed the off-payroll rules apply to partnerships, as we have always said. However, we do not agree with its decision that the rules cannot apply in this case and we’re considering an appeal.

‘It is our duty to ensure everyone pays the right tax under the law, regardless of wealth or status.’

Lineker’s case came after morning show star Lorraine Kelly won her own battle with the taxman after being accused of using the same alleged loophole.

The Scottish TV host was chased for £1.2million by HMRC after it claimed she should have been treated as an employee of ITV and as such, subject to income tax and National Insurance payments.

She had signed with ITV Breakfast in 2012 to present the ‘Daybreak’ and ‘Lorraine’ shows, doing the deal through her services company, Albatel Limited – but HMRC insisted she in reality became an ITV employee.

At the time, Kelly told Judge Dean she was ‘baffled’ by HMRC’s attitude and denied that tax and national insurance should have been deducted from her income under the PAYE system.

She said she had been ‘freelance’ since 1992 and had since then worked for the BBC, Channel 4, Scottish TV, Sky and ITV, also writing weekly columns for the Sun newspaper.

She considered it an ‘honour and a responsibility’ that she is one of the handful of TV stars whose names are in the titles of their shows.

She can endorse commercial products however she likes, launching a clothing range for JD Williams, acting as a brand ambassador for Avon and appearing in an online advert for furniture company, Wayfair.

Giving an example of her independence, she said she had refused to interview Elton John on a live link from Australia at 4am as she was filming with the BBC later in the day.

Explaining the ‘give and take’ in her relationship with ITV, she said she had been absent from the broadcaster’s morning schedule for four weeks in 2017 when she went on an expedition to Antarctica.

In the end a judge ruled she was hired for her services as an entertainer and was in control of both her working day and her show. 

‘We were satisfied that Ms Kelly presents a persona of herself, she presents herself as a brand and that is the brand ITV sought when engaging her,’ the judge said.

‘All parts of the show are a performance, the act being to perform the role of a friendly, chatty and fun personality.’

Kelly later said that in the aftermath she could ‘laugh’ at the remarks, adding: ‘It was, sadly, a bit of a misinterpretation but I knew what (the judge) meant. Obviously, it’s given people great hilarity and I can live with that.’ 

HMRC’s run of poor results against TV talent continued when Loose Women star Kaye Adams won her 10-year battle with them over a disputed £124,000 tax bill.

The 61-year-old ended up in court three times over the course of a decade as she argued she was self-employed when she hosted ‘The Kaye Adams Programme’ on BBC Radio Scotland between 2013 and 2017.

Like in other cases the government claimed she was an employee and owed thousands in unpaid taxes from her time on the show, for which she was paid £155,000 per year to present a minimum of 160 programmes for the BBC.

HMRC argued the presenter, who was employed as a freelancer during her time at BBC Scotland via her company Atholl House Productions Ltd, owed £81,150.60 in income tax and £43,290.98 in national insurance contributions.

Adams appealed to the First Tier Tax Tribunal and first won her case in April 2019. However, HMRC repeatedly refused to accept the decision, leading to three more hearings.

But the TV star, originally from Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, won a third court battle in November when a court ruled she was a freelance worker.

The former Strictly Come Dancing contestant then pleaded with the tax authority not to appeal and said the decade of financial limbo had been ‘almost unbearable’.

After reviewing the decision, HMRC said in January this year they would not appeal the judgement as it would not be ‘proportionate’ to contest it given the case has been ‘ongoing for a number of years’.

Adams later slammed HMRC, saying she was ‘utterly horrified at the behaviour of this department’ after spending nearly £300,000 in legal fees defending herself.

She said: ‘They [HMRC] have the power to ruin good, honest hard-working people’s lives with no consequences.

‘It is not just lives they are trashing, HMRC is making a mockery of the legislation. Self-employed status is now determined according to the pressure applied by HMRC and risk management on the part of media companies, not according to the law.

‘This is a pyrrhic victory for me. I have won my case against HMRC and I have spent on legal fees nearly £300,000, which should have been in my pension. Justice eh!’

The taxman did succeed in their case against Eamonn Holmes, however, after it claimed he owed HMRC £250,000 in unpaid levies.

The This Morning host was forced to sell his beloved house in east Belfast to pay off his enormous tax bill after officials ruled he was a staff member for broadcasters rather than a freelancer. 

They allegedly asked for 10 years of retrospective tax and national insurance payments from him, despite the presenter saying he was given holiday or sick pay.

He claimed in February last year that he was appealing against the ruling, and said the hearing was ‘the most stressful experience outside of losing my father’.

He told NVTV earlier this year that the loss of his home was ‘like they have taken away everything I ever worked for’.

The 64-year-old said that the stress of the row caused a severe bout of shingles which could have left him blind.

The TV star said: ‘I was like a lamb to the slaughter – it was the most stressful, humiliating experience.’

Describing the illness he added: ‘It was scary to see it. It looked as if someone had taken a baseball bat to my face and smashed me about a bit.’

In response Eamonn’s tax battle, a HMRC spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We take the wellbeing of all taxpayers seriously and do everything we can for those who engage with us to get their tax affairs in order, including by offering affordable payment plans.’