Gary Barlow Apology For Tax Avoidance Troubles

Take That pop star and former X Factor judge Gary Barlow has apologised to his fans for his involvement in an illegal tax avoidance scheme.

Barlow has posted an open message on Twitter saying he is sorry for any offence he may have caused and stating he has appointed new accountants to sort out his tax issues as soon as possible.

Barlow and other Take That members Howard Donald and Mark Owen, together with their manager Jonathan Wild, were among around a thousand celebrities involved in a tax avoidance scheme called Icebreaker.

The scheme was designed to finance creative projects, especially in the music industry, but was ruled by a judge as a vehicle solely for tax avoidance after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) took the Icebreaker organisers to court.

OBE row

The Take That members and their manager set up a limited liability partnership that generated a huge £25 million tax loss.

Under tax rules, they could then set off that loss against tax due on other income.

But the court ruled the scheme a sham and wound back their financial affairs so they still owed tax.

Judge Colin Bishopp ruled “the Icebreaker scheme is, and was known and understood by all concerned to be, a tax avoidance scheme”.

He found that investors borrowed up to 80% of their investment to inflate the partnership losses.

After the hearing and news of Barlow’s role in the affair, Commons Public Accounts Committee, chair Margaret Hodge demanded he should hand back his OBE awarded by The Queen. Prime Minister David Cameron backed Barlow and told him to keep his honour.

Void insurance

Former athlete Colin Jackson was among other Icebreaker investors who clocked up around £70 million of losses through the scheme. They each paid an average £357,266 to write off as a tax loss.

Martin Taylor, of the Rebus Group, a claims management company representing many of the Icebreaker investors, explained that many bought into the tax avoidance scheme because they could take out insurance to cover their losses if HMRC challenged them.

However, he revealed the insurers voided the policies because they felt the Icebreaker management team failed to provide the company with detailed information about the scheme.

“In just over a month, these investors lost their case before the tax tribunal and the insurance cover that they believed protected their investments,” said Taylor.