Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the magical franchise, has lost his battle for a £1million tax refund. The 27-year-old British actor is believed to have earned £24 million (AU$41 million) playing Harry Potter’s best friend, Ron Weasley, in the film franchise.
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The 27-year-old Harry Potter actor has been involved in a dispute with United Kingdom tax authorities Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over his tax returns from 2008-2010.
The 27-year-old apparently turned to tax advisers who suggested he file 20 months of income for the year 2009-2010.
Grint’s accountants tried to shift his earnings for eight months into the 2009/10 tax year when the top rate was 40 percent. By tax year 2010/11, the top rate of tax was 50 percent.
The judge ruled that Grint had failed to properly document that such a change had been made to that effect in his accounting documents. If the date change had been accepted, it would have led to a 10 per cent saving of about $1.34 million (£1 million), Judge Barbara Mosedale said on Tuesday (09Aug16), according to Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
The tax tribunal judge stressed it was not part of HMRC’s case that Grint was involved in tax avoidance.
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Rupert desperately tried to appeal the ruling, claiming he had nearly no awareness of his financial affairs as he trusted his dad Nigel Grint and accountant Dan Clay to make sure everything was properly taken care of. By putting his trust in his father and his accountant, they put him in a situation where he’s being forced to pay $1.3 million in back taxes due to some numerical trickery.
