Frequently Asked Questions
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Is the rate of tax always a fixed % of the gross? Is the rate of tax always a fixed % of the gross? No. The legislation permits reduced tax payment applications in order that the withholding point can be moved to a particular point in a chain of payment or to enable an individual's tax to be based on their net profit at normal UK rates. If the net profit is found to be nil there will be no tax withheld. There is also a de minimis provision which removes the requirement to withhold from payers. Why pay tax twice at home and in the UK? Like most countries the UK is entitled to tax on any income arising there; and like many countries (including the United States), money due is collected from non-resident entertainers through a withholding tax. One of the popular misconceptions about withholding tax is that any tax levied is in addition to tax paid in the person's home country. This is not so. The UK has Double Taxation Agreements with over 100 countries to prevent double taxation. When an entertainer or sports person pays UK tax on income he will be given a certificate confirming the level of tax paid. This certificate can be used to support any claim to foreign tax credit in the home country. In general, assuming the entertainer or sports person has sufficient tax liability in his country of residence, it will be possible to claim credit for the whole of the UK Tax deducted. The present rate of UK withholding tax is 22% of all gross income (including cash per diems and indirect expenses paid by the payer) arising from work in the UK. Normal UK rates (at present, a lower rate of 10%, a basic rate of 22% and a higher rate of 40%) can only be levied on net income after the year end (April 5) or by special arrangements with the Foreign Entertainers Unit in the year of an entertainer's or sports person's performance. As these rates are applied to income after percentage commissions and other expenses, the effective rate on the gross can never be even close to 40% and would be below 22% where, say, the gross was £100,000 and commissions/deductions were 30%. Also note that the UK tax year runs from April 6 to April 5 and consequently, if an activity straddles two tax years, say starting in March and completing in April, the tax is apportioned to the two tax years. Do you have to wait until the end of the UK tax year before you can claim expenses and commissions? Not necessarily. There are two basic possibilities: a) If an entertainer or sports person accepts a flat rate withholding tax deduction
of 22% from his UK income, it is open to him or to the Foreign Entertainers
Unit to review the situation at the end of the tax year. The withholding
tax deducted may be about the same as the final UK liability, calculated
at the rates already mentioned. However, it is more likely that the
withholding tax deducted will either be too much or not enough. If it
is too much the entertainer or sports person can claim repayment of
the excess at the end of the UK tax year. If it is not enough the Foreign
Entertainers Unit will make an assessment and issue a demand for the
difference.
Must all non-resident entertainers and sportspersons pay tax in the UK? In theory yes but there are some situations e.g. when nil profit is agreed with the Unit when tax will not be due. |
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