£1billion 'film tax bill for stars': String of household names face paying huge sums over scheme that linked box office hits to tax breaks

• Bob Geldof, Anne Robinson and Victoria Beckham said to be also among the 1,000 household names affected
• They each paid a minimum £100,000 to invest in a movie venture that promised to combine box office hits with tempting tax breaks

By SAM GREENHILL

PUBLISHED: 23:39 GMT, 9 March 2014 | UPDATED: 23:39 GMT, 9 March 2014

A string of celebrities from David Beckham to Andrew Lloyd Webber face having to pay the taxman a total of £1 billion in a dispute over a suspected tax avoidance scheme.

They each paid a minimum £100,000 to invest in a movie venture that promised to combine box office hits with tempting tax breaks.

Gary Lineker, Bob Geldof, Anne Robinson and Victoria Beckham are also among the 1,000 household names affected.

The Ingenious Film Partners 2 LLP scheme qualified for tax breaks under rules designed to stimulate the British film industry. Hit movies such as Life of Pi, Avatar and Girl With a Pearl Earring all benefited from tax relief.

But HMRC now argues such schemes were not legitimate investment opportunities but a means of avoiding tax.

Now a confidential letter, seen by the Sunday Times, has been sent by Ingenious Media Investments to its celebrity investors warning them of ‘draconian’ plans by HM Revenue and Customs to make them pay up to £1billion they had received in tax relief.

The newspaper claimed the tough new approach reflected HMRC’s frustration at dealing with a backlog of some 65,000 individuals and businesses it suspects of using tax avoidance schemes.

The Ingenious film scheme is soon to be tested at a tax tribunal, but HMRC is asking investors to repay money even before their case comes to court.

FULL STORY: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2577035/1billion-film-tax-b...