Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven Goran Eriksson are among a number of sporting personalities and City figures who could face huge individual tax bills after a scheme to reduce their liabilities backfired. The 289 investors in Eclipse 35 could end up paying several times more than the £117m of tax they sought to avoid.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven Goran Eriksson are among a number of sporting personalities and City figures who could face huge individual tax bills after a scheme to reduce their liabilities backfired. The 289 investors in Eclipse 35 could end up paying several times more than the £117m of tax they sought to avoid.
The film partnership was ruled to be an ‘aggressive’ tax avoidance scheme by a tax tribunal in April, although this could be appealed. Revenue and Customs is examining the big bank loans the investors took on to participate in the scheme. One participant has said that she would end up paying more tax than she invested.
Writing in the Financial Times today, Jonathan Ford noted that, unlike comedian Jimmy Carr, ‘the Manchester United manager has not been widely or aggressively pilloried.’