Former England Football captain Bryan Robson has succeeded in the majority of his appeal against HMRC over alleged IR35 breaches relating to his work as global ambassador for Manchester United between 2015/16 and 2020/21.
The First-tier Tax Tribunal accepted Robson’s challenge in four of the six tax years in dispute, but ruled that some of his income from December 2019 to April 2021 should have been treated as deemed employment income.
The tribunal has ordered HMRC and Robson to determine what proportion of that income arises from image rights, with the remainder subject to additional tax under the IR35 rules. Robson’s case, which dates back almost a decade, highlights the complexity of IR35 legislation, designed to determine whether individuals are effectively self-employed or should be treated as employees for tax purposes.
Dave Chaplin, CEO of IR35 Shield, an IR35 compliance company, attended the hearing and said: “Robson is now a member of another unhappy club, the ‘IR35 Decade Club’ of individuals who, as a result of the unworkable IR35 legislation, were left in a position of fiscal uncertainty nearly a decade after his services were rendered.”
Chaplin pointed to the high legal and administrative costs of the four-day tribunal, suggesting the final tax bill may not outweigh HMRC’s own costs in pursuing the case.
Chaplin further criticized the off-payroll legislation that replaced the original IR35 framework, saying it is burdening UK businesses and hindering growth.
“The government and tax authorities should celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of freelancers who simply want to be their own bosses, and not vilify them… with harmful ideologically-led legislation that curbs their freedoms,” he said.