The National Tax Service's Magic Doesn't Work... 3.2 Billion Won Tax Bomb and the Latest on Harry Potter's Friend

Report as assets, not additional income
Legal battle with National Tax Service since 2019

Rupert Grint (36), the British actor famous for playing Ron Weasley, Harry Potter's friend in the 'Harry Potter' film series, has lost a legal battle with the UK tax authorities and now faces a tax bill of ?1.8 million (approximately 3.2 billion KRW). On the 29th of last month (local time), foreign media including the UK BBC and the British daily The Guardian reported that the UK court dismissed Grint's lawsuit against the UK tax authorities, which claimed that the tax reassessment was unfair.

British actor Rupert Grint (36), famous for his role as Ron Weasley, Harry Potter's friend in the movie series 'Harry Potter'. Rupert Grint Instagram

According to the report, Grint earned additional revenue of ?4.5 million (approximately 8.1 billion KRW) from DVD sales and streaming rights related to the 'Harry Potter' film series during the 2011-2012 fiscal year. This income was paid to a company managing Grint's business, of which he was the sole shareholder. In 2019, the UK tax authorities imposed a tax reassessment, stating that Grint should have reported this additional income as income but had declared it as assets, thereby underpaying taxes.

In the UK, the top rate of income tax is 52%, while the capital gains tax rate is 10%. Grint appealed, arguing that the taxation was appropriate. He claimed that the ?4.5 million received from the company was compensation for his rights, recordings, and goodwill related to his work, which are capital assets and therefore subject to capital gains tax. However, the court ruled differently. The court dismissed the appeal, stating that since most of the value of the income in question had already been realized during the relevant period, it was correct to tax it as income rather than capital.

Previously, Grint had lost a separate lawsuit in 2016 related to a ?1 million tax refund, and now he has lost again. It is estimated that Grint earned a total of ?24 million (approximately 42.7 billion KRW) from appearing in all eight Harry Potter films from 2001 to 2011. He has since appeared in films such as 'In the White', 'Charlie Countryman', and 'Knock It Down Inflight', as well as on TV and theater stages.