Kaye Adams and Eamonn Holmes to fight HMRC on IR35, again

Two major IR35 appeals involving two of the most high-profile TV personalities to ever be determined by the taxman as caught by the rule are set for the courts.

Eamonn Holmes, who presents ITV’s This Morning, has reportedly filed a listing to next year challenge a ruling that he owes £250,000 for being a disguised employee of the broadcaster.

But ContractorUK understands that Kaye Adams, who presents Loose Women for the very same channel, is having her IR35 victory over HMRC appealed, in a one-and-half day hearing expected in November.

'Never held herself to be part of the BBC'

“Fortified by their ‘Kickabout’ success at the Upper Tier Tribunal, HMRC are taking on Atholl House Productions again,” said an adviser, referring to Ms Adams’ limited company.

“This IR35 case is essentially about Ms Adams a ‘freelance journalist’ who had never held herself to be part of the BBC, and [who] was ‘in business on her own account.’”

 A spokesman for HMRC declined to comment on the points of IR35 law which it might fight the appeal on, saying that the department does not comment on “ongoing legal cases.”

'Editorial control'

But a former head of investigations for HMRC points out that Ms Adams did not have the right of substitution which, on its own, is a signpost to being inside IR35.

The ex-Revenue official also said Adams was without editorial control in the two contracts to be scrutinised, both for her work with the BBC on The Kaye Adams programme.

Ironically, editorial ‘control’ played an important part in Eamonn Holmes being deemed inside IR35 by judge Harriet Morgan earlier this year, according to status advisory Qdos.

'One to keep an eye on'

“Mutuality [did too],” says the advisory’s Seb Maley, but “the presenter -- who said ‘there’s nobody more freelance than me,’ now looks like he will appeal the verdict at the UTT.”

Qdos added: “This is certainly one to keep an eye on [because] with the clock ticking towards IR35 reform in the private sector, the last thing HMRC wants is a high-profile IR35 loss.”