England’s World Cup winning cricket star Adil Rashid has been ‘named and shamed’ by the Inland Revenue as a tax evader.
The ace bowler, who helped England lift the World Cup at Lords last summer, was identified by tax officials as a ‘deliberate defaulter’ who failed to pay more than £100,000 in taxes.
The Yorkshire cricketer, who has a ‘central’ contract with the England team where stars are paid around £1 million a year, defaulted on his tax returns over four years from 2013-2017.
England cricketer Adil Rashid, pictured with his child outside his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, has been ‘named and shamed’ by the Inland Revenue as a tax evader
The spin bowler has been identified by tax officials as a ‘deliberate defaulter’ who failed to pay more than £100,000 in taxes
He has been fined £36,608.13 by the taxman for the four-year misdemeanor and publicly shamed by having his name revealed along with other defaulters.
His name appears in the latest public unveiling of defaulters by the taxman, alongside restauranteurs, builders and second hand car salesmen.
Identifying Rashid and other tax evaders is the Government’s means of warning others that everyone pays the right amount of taxes or gets caught and embarrassed publicly in the end.
The Yorkshire cricketer defaulted on his tax returns over four years from 2013-2017
Rashid, a father of one who lives with his parents and family in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was also ordered to pay £100,280.89 in back taxes on top of the penalty.
The 32-year-old cricketer, who last played in one-day international matches in South Africa two months ago, told Mail Online his non-payment was just a ‘mistake’ and denied he had avoided tax deliberately.
Speaking at his large detached bricked home in Bradford and wearing a T-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and sandals, he said had been stunned to discover the taxman had targeted him.
He said: ‘I was shocked when I found out. But it was a simple mistake – there is nothing else to it.
‘As a player, you just play and leave it to the accountant.’
But an Inland Revenue source said tax officers worked on the premise that it was ultimately the responsibility of those who owed tax and not those who worked to help them.
But Rashid added: ‘Everything was paid up and I told England about it.
‘I have nothing to hide. If there is something that I had to hide, I would not be who I am.
Rashid, pictured with captain Eoin Morgan (right), as they celebrate their World Cup final triumph over New Zealand in July last year
‘I am an England cricketer – why would I not pay my tax?
‘Where would it leave me? There is no need for that for me personally.’
He added: ”HMRC wrote me a letter and I sorted it out straight away.
‘My tax is up to date now. Obviously we had to pay a few fines but that is the nature of the thing.’
He blamed it on a mistake by his accountant and that he had employed a new consultant to manage his tax returns.
Rashid made his Test debut against Pakistan in October 2015 and has toured the West Indies and South Africa this year. He has been capped more than 150 times by England.
Rashid has blamed it on a mistake by his ‘lazy’ accountant and that he had employed a new consultant to manage his tax returns
He has also played cricket in the UEA and Bangladesh’s Premier League with the Dhaka Dynamites.
The Inland Revenue says it has published the names of those penalised under civil procedures for deliberately defaulting on certain tax obligations February 2013.
The ‘naming and shaming’ is, alongside fines, the ultimate threat against defaulters and is also designed to ‘encourage’ avoiders to engage with tax officers and come clean before punishment.
The Inland Revenue said it encourages ‘those who have deliberately defaulted on their tax obligations to come forward and make a full and early disclosure to HMRC to avoid being named.’
It’s purpose in shaming tax evaders is also to drive home the message that the Government is serious about tackling evasion and non-compliance’ by ensuring everyone pays their fair share, creating a level playing field for honest people and businesses, and cracking down on the minority who seek to evade tax.’
A HMRC spokesman said the vast majority of the UK’s businesses and individuals were honest and paid their share towards funding public services and it was important that a crackdown was operated against tax cheats.