Moira dodges 50p

It has been revealed that Moira Stuart, the face of HMRC has set up a company to avoid paying 50 per cent tax on her earnings.

The newsreader - who was responsible for fronting the 'tax doesn't have to be taxing campaign by HMRC - set up a business entitled 'Moira Stuart Limited' that would see earnings made by Stuart paid at a rate of 21 per cent as opposed to the 50 per cent tax rate faced by those earning over £100,000 a year the Telegraph has reported.

While the company only declared earnings of £22,607 for the 2010/2011 tax year and corporation tax of £4,380, this meant that they could be taxed at a separate rate to any earnings over £100,000 a year. The discovery of Stuart's tax affairs comes as part of an investigation by The Treasury into how many people working in the public sector are using this method of lowering their tax bill.

While Stuart's conduct is entirely legal, due to her high-profile work with HMRC it is likely to cause considerable embarrassment for the department and raise questions over the efficacy of the 50 per cent band introduced by Labour in 2010.

Some methods for minimising your tax bill should you fall into the 50 per cent tax band are available here.