TV presenter loses appeal on contractor working
The UT has upheld an FTT decision that the off-payroll working (IR35) rules apply to the case of a football presenter who worked for Sky TV using a personal service company (PSC), as the relationship was characteristic of employment.
Overall, the appeal against determinations to tax him as though he were a direct employee of the broadcaster was dismissed, as the relationship was closer to employment than contract work.
The appellant is the PSC of a TV presenter. It was set up in 2009, after he retired from professional football, and it entered into contracts with a broadcaster to provide his services. The FTT considered the wording of the contracts, and how he performed his duties in practice. Overall, the appeal against determinations to tax him as though he were a direct employee of the broadcaster was dismissed, as the relationship was closer to employment than contract work.
Specific points drawn out by the FTT included that the presenter was not at financial risk, as his annual fee was paid in unvarying monthly instalments regardless of the distribution of work across the year. He worked solely for the broadcaster in the first three years after setting up a PSC, so the PSC was dependent on this work.
Before the UT, the taxpayer argued that the FTT had erred in law on the mutuality of obligation issue, in not taking into account that other parts of the contract were inconsistent with employment, and that the three stage test from another case had been applied incorrectly.
The findings of the FTT, which could not be challenged, were enough to dismiss the first two points. The UT considered the application of the test, but concluded that the hypothetical contract had been correctly constructed, and met the requirements to be one of employment. The appeal was dismissed.
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