Adrian Chiles facing new hearing in £1.7m battle with taxman
The broadcaster and Baggies fan Adrian Chiles faces a new hearing in his legal battle with the taxman over allegedly owing £1.7 million.
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Chiles was earlier this year subject of an HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) appeal relating to against a 2022 tribunal decision that his services through his personal company Basic Broadcasting Limited , should not be treated as work performed under employment contracts for tax purposes.
In a ruling made public on Monday, two judges at a more senior tribunal ruled the case against the presenter, best known for presenting BBC's The One Show and Radio 5 Live, should be reconsidered after a “flawed approach” was taken.
Chiles, who grew up in Hagley near Stourbridge, previously brought a case against HMRC over income tax and national insurance due from Basic Broadcasting Limited.
It is alleged he owed £1,249,433 in income tax and an additional £460,739 in national insurance in relation to several of his BBC and ITV contracts dating between 2012 and 2017.
The HMRC argued that under tax rules the 57-year-old should be treated as if he were an employee of the organisations and that his company should pay the amounts it is said to owe.
Chiles is the sole director for Basic Broadcasting Limited whose lawyers state that the presenter should be treated as a self-employed contractor and that his company had no further tax liability.
Basic Broadcasting Limited's representatives said: “We have not found this to be an easy decision.
"The toll which the prolonged appeal process has already taken on Mr Chiles is significant, and was described by him in a powerful witness statement which we have considered again and with care in preparing this decision.”
Six years ago he took part in BBC documentary Drinkers Like Me in which a doctor warned him he could not continue his level of drinking of up to 100 units a week.
In 2022, he released a book titled The Good Drinker: How I Learned To Love Drinking Less, having learnt how to moderate his drinking behaviours. He appeared in front of the parliamentary Health and Social Care Committee to discuss how to prevent harms caused by alcohol.
