Rupert Grint, who starred as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, is in court seeking a £1m refund from HMRC after tax officials blocked attempts to shield some of his earnings from the 50p rate of tax levied six years ago .
Grint, who is said to have earned around £24m for his work on the Potter franchise, is in dispute with HMRC over accounts created for him in 2010.
The actor is objecting to a decision by tax inspectors to prevent him employing an accounting period shorter than 12 months, between 31 July 2009 and 5 April 2010, which was the eve of the new tax year in which a 50% top rate of tax came into force.
For Grint, this higher rate came at a critical time as filming was under way on the penultimate Harry Potter film – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Outside court, his accountant confirmed that refusal to accept the changed date had meant an extra tax payment of about £1m.
The 50p rate had been introduced in the last month of the Labour government as part of efforts to shore up the public finances following the banking crisis. It was abolished by George Osborne two years later.
Lawyers for Grint told a tax tribunal sitting at the high court in London that there was nothing improper or untoward in changing the accounting date and pointed out that this was accepted by HMRC.
However, tax inspectors had rejected the date change after it was called into question by an accounting document discovered during an unrelated and routine VAT inspection which showed a different date.
Grint’s lawyers argued this document, relied on by HMRC, was just an informal summary of financial information, never intended to constitute an official set of accounts.
Earlier this week Grint, who first appeared in the Potter films at the age of 12, testified that his knowledge about his financial affairs was “quite limited”, and that he left his tax returns to his father, Nigel, and his accountant, Dan Clay.
HMRC have said officials cannot comment on the case. The hearing closes on 29 June.
