Did a shock £350,000 tax bill trigger Boris Johnson’s pleas for Downing St cash?

Marilyn McKeever, partner in our private wealth team, comments on the importance of tax planning for the self-employed, in an article for the Evening Standard.

Whilst discussing taxation in relation to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Ms McKeever stated that the increase in his earning power, would have made tax planning more difficult. She states that,

Self-employed people are asked to pay half their expected tax bill ‘on account’, that is, in advance. But in his (Mr Johnson’s) case this would have been based on his earnings for the year he was Foreign Secretary, which was far less. So on January 31, 2020 he would probably have been asked not only to pay most of the money he owed for the 2018-19 year, but also half as much again ‘on account’ for the following year.’

Ms McKeever also noted that Mr Johnson’s accountant would have advised him to put 45 per cent of his extra income aside for tax, but added: ‘That assumes his accountant was kept up to date about what Mr Johnson was earning.’

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