Harry Potter Actor Rupert Grint Loses Tax Battle, Ordered To Pay Rs 19 Crore

London: British actor Rupert Grint, who rose to fame after playing the character of Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, has been ordered to pay $2.3 million (Rs 19 crore) after losing a long-running dispute with the UK tax authorities.

It all started with Grint’s tax filings for 2011-2012 financial year being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the country’s tax agency.

The tax agency pointed out that Grint had wrongly classified around $5.7 million in earnings from residuals of Harry Potter films — including DVD sales, TV rights and streaming royalties — as capital asset. Such erroneous classification attracted a lower tax rate.

Grint contested HMRC’s ruling. The case dragged on for more several years, before Judge Harriet Morgan ruled against Grint earlier this week.

Stating that the income “derived substantially the whole of its value from the activities of Mr Grint”, the judge said ruled that it must taxed as income.

The ruling in the case, which was going on since 2019, reinforces HMRC’s stance on the taxation of earnings from entertainment and intellectual property rights.