The BBC newsreader Moira Stuart, has set up a private firm that allows her to avoid the 50% top rate of tax on some of her income.The revelation came as the foreign secretary, William Hague, became the first senior cabinet minister to condemn the practice of setting up companies through which to siphon salaries.
The Guardian revealed last week that as many as 25 full-time NHS staff, most on contracts as long as five years, are paid through companies owned by their families. Many were earning well over £100,000 a year. The department of health says it is investigating the position and whether the staff will be allowed to go on the payroll, and the Treasury is undertaking a wider review across Whitehall due to be completed by the end of March.
The device allows individuals to pay as little as 21% corporation tax, rather than the higher rate of 40% or top rate of 50%. Labour has been reluctant to challenge the practice in the NHS since it knows many of the agreements were cleared under the last Labour government.
Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/feb/19/moira-stewart-tax-private-company
