Soap stars at ITV could be lining to to negotiate bigger pay checks after a battle with the taxman.
Talent on shows like Coronation Street and Emmerdale are about to have their lives made slightly more complicated, but potentially more lucrative, due to interference from everyone’s friends at HMRC.
The chance for renegotiation is being forced after a change in rules means that on-screen talent need to be employed full time instead of being allowed to feature as ‘self-employed’ talent.
By making soap stars register as self-employed, companies like ITV are allowed to have talent on screen and paid via personal service companies and as freelancers.
By employing talent in this way, ITV is able to avoid paying National Insurance contributions on behalf of the talent – who are expected to then file their own tax returns and pay NI contributions and taxes themselves.
The change being forced by HMRC will mean ITV will have to employ such talent as full time staff – and this could thus give talent a window to negotiate new contracts which allow them to work elsewhere, which is something they are currently forbidden from doing.
A source told The Sun: “When this kicks in, everyone impacted is going to be pushing for the best possible deal to guarantee themselves a big salary — which might lead to serious pay rises.”
The Sun also predicts Corrie stars inlacing Sair Khan, Tina O’Brien and Colson Smith, and Emmerdale stars including Lucy Pargeter and Matthew Wolfenden will be able to get better deals.
HMRC’s move against ITV follows recent changes at the BBC which were enforced after talent was penalised there for falling behind with National Insurance payments.
Back in 2017, Hustle actor Robert Glenister was slapped with a £147,547 bill for National Insurance contributions which had not been paid over a 10 year period.
His case led HMRC to order the BBC to employ on-screen talent – including actors and presenters – and various off-screen talent as full time employees to ensure similar mistakes didn’t happen in future.
However, the move led many BBC stars to see their income drop by as much as 25 percent as they were forced to take less pay, while the Corporation faced the burden of paying all the National Insurance payments.
Mr Glenister grumbled at the time: “My case is one of a few hundred involving many of the UK’s most successful actors . . . It is yet another unfair cash grab that treats genuinely self-employed actors as employees contrary to government policy. This is not a tax avoidance case and we are considering an appeal.”
But HMRC, triumphant in their case, said: “We are pleased that the tribunal agreed with our view. Employment status is never a matter of choice and is always dictated by the specific facts.”
