Rangers hero Neil McCann loses £200k battle with taxman over TV pundit work

Former footballer Neil McCann has misplaced a £200,000 battle with the taxman over his work as a TV pundit.

The ex-Scotland and Rangers star, 47, had moved into commentary work when he hung up his boots.

His private firm, McCann Media Ltd, entered into agreements with broadcasting big Sky and he carried out roles as a commentator, presenter or interviewer for soccer programmes or movies.

However HMRC challenged McCann's arrange and claimed he owed hundreds in unpaid revenue tax and Nationwide Insurance coverage funds masking 2013-2018.

McCann's career started with Dundee before he moved to Hearts who he helped win the Scottish Cup in 1998
McCann's profession began with Dundee earlier than he moved to Hearts who he helped win the Scottish Cup in 1998

A tax tribunal was instructed McCann insisted he was not a Sky worker and he had different working commitments.

McCann stated he may decline work with the broadcaster and identified he can be answerable for any fines imposed by watchdog Ofcom within the occasion of a breach of guidelines.

However he now faces a considerable invoice after the tribunal dominated his preparations with Sky couldn't be thought-about an impartial enterprise.

The panel discovered McCann needed to work inside the agreed format of any programme and had restrictions on his non-Sky work.

Tax professional Dave Chaplin stated McCann had fallen foul of IR35 guidelines on off-payroll staff.

He wrote in a weblog: "The tribunal regarded him as a reputable witness and not one of the proof urged he sought to keep away from tax and neither did HMRC search to impose any penalties.

"It might be a substantial stretch of the creativeness to recommend they and Sky had by some means contrived a state of affairs to acquire a tax benefit.

"There was no discovering as such by the choose, nor had been the contracts deemed to be a sham."

He added: "Had these contracts been extra rigorously drafted to align with the connection McCann believed he entered into, the choice could have been completely different.

"It is tough to not really feel sympathy for the place he has now discovered himself in."

McCann's profession began with Dundee earlier than he moved to Hearts who he helped win the Scottish Cup in 1998.

Later that 12 months he signed for Rangers in a £2million deal.

He loved success at Ibrox and later moved to Southampton.

McCann, who was capped 26 occasions for Scotland, returned to Hearts in 2006 earlier than quitting soccer on his return to Dundee.

He's now a BBC Scotland pundit.

An HMRC spokesman stated: "We welcome this judgement, which agreed that the off-payroll working guidelines utilized.

"These guidelines are in place to make sure that individuals who work like staff, however by their very own restricted firm, are taxed like staff, making a stage taking part in subject with different employees."

McCann was approached for remark.

Final month TV presenter Adrian Chiles gained a £1.7million IR35 case after a seven-year battle with HMRC.

HMRC argued that his BBC and ITV contracts fell inside laws and he ought to pay hundreds in again tax.

Nevertheless, a tribunal dominated Chiles' work contracts had been for companies and never contracts of employment.

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