BBC looks at freelances’ tax

Published on 11/10/2012 02:17

HUNDREDS of BBC staff, including familiar faces such as Fiona Bruce and Jeremy Paxman, could see their pay arrangements change in the wake of a tax “avoidance” controversy.

Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, said many of the 4,000-plus people who are classed as freelances would “undoubtedly” be put on the payroll in future and paid directly.

It comes after a report by the public accounts committee criticised the widespread use of payments to “service companies” by the BBC and others. The report said the payments, often for on-air talent, generated a suspicion of “complicity” in tax avoidance.