Celebrity tax avoiders banned from honours award list
Celebrity tax avoiders have been banned from being awarded with knighthoods and other honours, it has been revealed.
Nominees for the awards are judged by HM Revenue and Customs and the Cabinet Office, according to a memorandum of understanding, which states that "poor tax behaviour is not consistent with the award of an honour", The Times reported.
Read more: Scrap business rates in favour of land tax, Lib Dems say
Candidates are categorised with a traffic light system that rates low risk nominees with a green light, amber for medium risk and red for high risk, it was revealed in a response to a freedom of information request.
An amber rating would damage the individuals chance of being awarded an honour, and is given if disclosure of tax affairs would be likely to "cause adverse comment", the newspaper said.
The document said: "Trust would likely be lost if an honour was awarded to someone with negative tax behaviours and those behaviours became linked to the positive recognition that accompanies the award of an honour."
Celebrities that invest in tax havens could get a red rating if they "show evidence of offshore evasion", although the categories are time-limited and could last just three years.
Read more: Law firm criticises HMRC's use of informants to clamp down on tax evasion