Ron Weasley in tax battle with HMRC

Economia, the online magazine for chartered accountants, has published the following article about the actor who starred as Harry Potter’s best friend Ron Weasley, and a tax refund he is claiming. We’ve shared the article below…

 

Actor Rupert Grint is battling HMRC over a £1m tax refund he believes he is owed.  The actor, who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, is fighting previous ruling, which found HMRC was right to block a tax return of £1m. In 2016, Grint tried to claim the tax back by using a change in accounting dates to avoid paying a higher tax rate on his earnings.

At the time Judge Barbara Mosadele found Grint had changed his accounting date so 20 months of income would be taxed in 2009/10, one year before the top tax rate rose from 40%to 50%. She ruled he was not entitled to the refund as he had failed to give a valid reason for such change.

He has now taken his case to the Upper Tribunal, with his barrister Patrick Sooares claiming the previous judge used the wrong legal test in the ruling. According to the Daily Mirror, HMRC is contesting the appeal, as it believes there was no error of law. When discussing money with Radio Times magazine recently, he said, “I actually don’t know how much I have. I couldn’t even really guess.”

HMRC declined to comment.

Our clients do know how much money they have, and we have an excellent record for helping clients with any tax refunds they may be due. If you’d like to know more about this, please give us a call on 020 8530 0720 or email paula.w@nordens.co.uk.