Several former England cricketers, including four members of the victorious 2005 Ashes side, are facing substantially large penalties after schemes they invested in were deemed by HMRC to be in breach of tax avoidance regulations, according to the Guardian.
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The cricketers are alleged to have become involved with film investments, in partnerships set up by Ingenious Media.
Victorious captain from 2005 Michael Vaughan as well as Paul Collingwood, Ashley Giles and Matthew Hoggard invested in Ingenious just a couple of months before they won the Ashes, and became the latest in a long line of professional cricketers, following on from the likes of Mark Butcher, Alec Stewart and David Gower, to become involved in the scheme, which has been deemed illegal.
Ingenious, who have invested in films such as Avatar and Hotel Rwanda, have denied that they have done anything wrong, revealing that they are an HMRC approved company.
However, new laws bestowed upon them by the government, allow HMRC to demand up-front repayment of any tax that is subject to dispute, hence why this situation has only come to light ten years after the players’ involvement began.
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