Holly Willoughby’s Business in Court for Unpaid Tax

TV star, Holly Willoughby has been faced with the possible closure of her media company after it racked up a significant unpaid tax bill.

The former This Morning presenter and her husband, Dan Baldwin set up Roxy Media, a media management and production company, back in 2008. The company has been issued a winding-up petition against them for unpaid bills that have been reduced from an unspecified amount to a current £377k.

“The difference between insolvency and carrying on trading”

HMRC Negotiator at Forbes Burton, Nicholas Troth explained that “it seems like Roxy Media’s debts are mostly with HMRC, with Willoughby and her husband being ordered to pay the £377k owed to them.

“This is common practice for HMRC. If anything such as Corporation Tax or VAT is left unpaid, they have the means to chase up payment and eventually petition for the offending company’s closure should their appeals be unsuccessful.

“With bills often coming at directors in large sums, many can find HMRC debts overwhelming. What many don’t realise though is that these bills can often be split down into manageable payments. It’s not something that HMRC advertise particularly, but a Time to Pay arrangement is an option for any company that’s struggling with tax bills.

“We’ve negotiated countless deals on behalf of clients that have been the difference between insolvency and carrying on trading.”

“Supportive approach”

This is reflected in the official statement from an HMRC spokeswoman on the subject. She explains that HMRC “take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and only file winding-up petitions once we’ve exhausted all other options, in order to protect taxpayers’ money”.

Holly Willoughby did not attend the court hearing on Wednesday, 16^th April, in which the judge allowed a 12-week adjournment. Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Briggs responded to a request from HMRC to adjourn the hearing by giving a date of July 9^th for the matter to be resolved by before the company is forcibly closed down.

A large tax bill needn’t be a company killer

With Time-to-Pay options available for most scenarios, it’s frustrating to see so many businesses fold or struggle because of large tax bills.

If you think your business might benefit from spreading its tax payments out over a longer period of time, it’s worth taking five minutes to talk to an experienced business advisor about the possibility of applying for a Time-to-Pay arrangement. Forbes Burton offers free, no-obligation consultations that advise business owners of the best options to take.

Call one of our friendly advisers on 0808 280 6029 or email advice@forbesburton.com to find out how we can help.