According to a report from the newspaper published this morning, Robinson, as well as Take That members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, used the ‘Liberty tax strategy’ – a scheme which enabled investors to avoid income tax by paying up to 7p in the pound in fees.
Robinson is believed to have paid £280,000 to use the Jersey-based scheme to avoid tax on about £4m. While the three members of Take That, who were also revealed by The Times earlier this year to have used another highly aggressive tax avoidance scheme, are believed to have avoided tax on £6.5m through Liberty. In total, the newspaper said about £1.2bn was sheltered in the scheme.
The Times said Liberty was one of the largest and most aggressive avoidance schemes available. It worked by buying and selling dividends offshore generating more than £1bn in artificial losses which members could offset against their own tax bills.
A Liberty member paying £70,000 in fees could earn £1m a year tax free. The scheme was open only to higher-rate taxpayers, who would normally pay income tax at between 40 and 50 per cent.
To read the full story on The Times website click here
