News - HMRC and honours
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| Celebrities who use lawful but controversial schemes are being "blacklisted" to protect the reputation of the honours list, says the Times. A Freedom of Information request showed a traffic light system was used to identify an individual's suitability. HMRC analyses nominees for honours to check the risk of them being exposed over their tax affairs. The FOI response revealed that people are categorised as green if they are low risk, amber for medium risk and red for high risk. David Beckham is one of a number of celebrities who invested in a tax avoidance scheme which was successfully challenged by HMRC The list is then sent back to the Cabinet Office honours committee and the prime minister via secure email. An amber rating - given to individuals whose tax affairs would be "likely to cause adverse comment" - would damage their chance of receiving an honour, said the Times. It added that the system was a "rare exception to the principle of taxpayer confidentiality". A government spokesman said it was a "longstanding policy... to protect the integrity of the system". Last year, leaked emails appeared to reveal David Beckham's frustration at missing out on a knighthood in 2013. The 43-year-old was one of a number of celebrities who invested in a tax avoidance scheme which was successfully challenged by HMRC. It is not known whether he was among the celebrities blocked by HMRC from receiving an honour. | ||
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