Celebrities hit with ‘fame tax’ in Budget

CELEBS will be hit with a new rule regarding their image rights following a crackdown from Treasurer Scott Morrison.

CELEBRITIES will be hit with new rules on their image rights to make sure they’re not dodging their income tax.

Tuesday’s federal Budget contains a ‘fame tax’ that will make sure celebrities and high-profile people who licence their image rights to other companies pay tax on all the income and non-cash benefits they receive.

Celebrities can currently licence their image rights to a business, which can claim losses on the investment, and then pay just 30 per cent tax on the profits.

Rebecca Judd runs a successful website and has launched a collaboration with Adairs. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty Images.

Carrie Bickmore has lent her image to Garnier BB cream. Picture: Christian Gilles

Shane Warne has fronted an ad for eBay Australia. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/ AFP

“This measure will ensure that all remuneration (including payments and non-cash benefits) provided for the commercial exploitation of a person’s fame or image will be included in the assessable income of that individual,” the 2018/19 Budget says.

The money raised from the change is “unquantifiable”, the Budget said.

Originally published as Celebrities hit with ‘fame tax’ in Budget