TV presenter Lorraine Kelly has been victorious in her dispute with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) worth £1.2m.

Kelly was handed a bill worth almost £900,000 in income tax and more than £300,000 in national insurance contributions in 2016.

From 2012, Kelly was contracted to present Daybreak and her Lorraine show through the company she co-owns with her husband, with HMRC arguing that she was effectively employed by ITV.

However, a tribunal judge ruled that the TV presenter was not employed by ITV as part of the case, with Judge Jennifer Dean concluding that she should be treated as a “self-employed star”, following the appeal launched by Kelly.

Judge Dean said in her ruling that the relationship between Kelly and ITV was a contract for services and not that of employer and employee. She also noted that Kelly can be described as a “theatrical artist”, which means that payments to an agent were allowed as a tax-deductible expense.

According to the Judge, Kelly did not just appear as herself, but that she actually appeared as a persona of herself and represents herself as a brand, which is what ITV sought.

Furthermore, Kelly did not get to enjoy other employee benefits, such as sick or holiday pay.

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