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Prime Minister David Cameron branded the tax arrangement of comedian Jimmy Carr 'morally wrong'

A Downing Street spokesman today welcomed Mr Carr's apology.

'I think it is obviously welcome,' a No 10 spokeswoman said.

'HMRC are working hard to investigate the sort of scheme that Jimmy Carr had been reported to be involved in to ensure that they are not aggressively avoiding tax, and, if they are, they are closed down.'

The spokeswoman defended Mr Cameron's decision to speak out about a particular individual's tax affairs - in contravention of normal government practice.

'The Prime Minister was expressing what probably lots of people felt after reading the coverage,' she said.

Carr, who has publicly mocked tax avoidance schemes, is believed to be the largest beneficiary of a Jersey-based accountancy arrangement said to shelter 168million a year from the taxman.

He puts away 3.3million a year via the K2 tax scheme, which is used by more than 1,000 tax avoiders, it was claimed.

K2 works by transferring salaries into a Jersey-based trust, which lends investors back the money. Because the loan can technically be recalled, it is not subject to income tax.

Amid the furore, Jimmy Car is due to record an episode of 8 Out Of 10 Cats for Channel 4 today. His co-star Jon Richardson Tweeted jokingly: 'Off to record 8 Out Of 10 Cats. Always difficult in a quiet news week'.

Last night, Carr's spokesman would not comment on a suggestion that his use of tax avoidance schemes had enabled him to buy his London mansion.

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Last night a man with the same distinctive accent as Mr Carr answered the buzzer at the mansion and said Mr Carr was not in and would not wish to comment. Minutes later Mr Carr left the house in a black Range Rover.

Carr was also a member of an aggressive avoidance scheme called Rushmore, which was shut down by the Treasury in 2009, the year he bought his 8.5million property.

Even by local standards the Edwardian house, which has two gated entrances and a sweeping driveway for a fleet of cars, is a grand pile.

Several months after completing the purchase in 2009, Carr bought a neighbouring annexe without a mortgage, but there is no record of the price paid.

Planning records show he knocked down the neighbouring property, rebuilt it and merged it into the main home.

The annexe contains a garage for his 80,000 Range Rover, a games room and home cinema.

Land registry documents show Carr is the sole owner. In the section where lenders are declared, it says: 'None'.

He is believed to live at the property with his long-term partner Karoline Copping, but her name is not on the legal document, meaning he owns it outright.

The stand-up comedian still owns a property in Highbury, North London, that he bought for 700,000 in 2004, for which he has a mortgage with Barclays.

On Tuesday, Carr was heckled at a gig in Tunbridge Wells when a member of the audience shouted: 'You don't pay tax'.

Carr replied: 'I pay what I have to and not a penny more.'  

The comic, who owns his own company, makes much of his money from DVD sales and television appearances.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: 'I'm not in favour of tax avoidance, obviously, but I don't think it is for politicians to lecture people about morality.

'I think what the politicians need to do – if the wrong thing is happening – is change the law to prevent that tax avoidance happening and I think that is the right course the Government should take.

'Instead, they are taking the wrong course, which is cutting taxes for millionaires.'

Meanwhile, Treasury minister David Gauke today warned people using the K2 scheme that there were 'serious doubts' about whether it would work and that they could still find themselves facing bills for more tax.

He said: 'I don't think they should make any assumptions on that. Very often these schemes fail and HMRC, if at all possible, will close down the schemes and also recover the tax, because if they don't work they don't work.'

Mr Gauke told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Whether something is against the law or not, morality is bigger than that, and I don't think it's fair, when most people are paying income tax and national insurance at 32 per cent or 42 per cent, that very wealthy people enter into arrangements that are clearly a contrivance.

'In those circumstances I think it's perfectly reasonable for politicians to say "that's not acceptable, I don't think that's the right thing to do", and that's exactly what the Prime Minister and other ministers have been doing over the past few days.'

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Backing: Carr was supported by comedians including BBC regular John Bishop

Twitter users yesterday branded Jimmy Carr a ‘hypocrite’ over his tax avoidance – as a string of his fellow comedians leapt to his defence and tried to make light of the scandal.

Carr is one of the most popular celebrities on Twitter, with more than two million followers, but yesterday he faced a barrage of critical tweets.

Many of those who posted messages were furious that Carr was paying next to nothing in tax even though he has poked fun at corporations which fail to pay their share.

However, Carr was supported by comedians including BBC regular John Bishop, who wrote: ‘To be honest Jimmy Carr’s finances are like his jokes – every comedian in the country read it and said, “I wish I thought of that”.’

Bishop also tweeted: ‘All Greece have to do is appoint Jimmy Carr as finance minister and it will all be sorted.’

Former Trigger Happy TV host Dom Joly also stood up for Carr on Twitter, saying he was a ‘very nice man who does a lot for good causes’.

Comedian Rufus Hound said Carr ‘works incredibly hard’ and has done ‘absolutely nothing illegal’, adding in a tweet: ‘A lot of people here seem to be making the case that tax avoidance’s morally wrong. In which case vote to change it. I do.’

However, he later admitted that he could ‘understand the incredulity’ over the tax avoidance. And Scottish comedian Brian Limond lamented the ‘silence from Jimmy Carr’s celebrity chums as he snatches money from the poor’.

Presenter and Heart FM breakfast show host Jamie Theakston tweeted: ‘Jimmy Carr earnt 3.5m last year ... after tax, that’s nearly 3.5m.’

Among the general public much of the scorn for Carr was focused on a sketch for Channel 4 show 10 O’Clock Live last year in which he criticised Barclays for its ‘1 per cent tax scam’.

Twitter user Mark Worgan said: ‘Just read the Jimmy Carr story – oh dear, oh dear, it’s the hypocrisy that gets you in the end.’

Scott Gray added: ‘Don’t worry, my dad’s been paying tax for you. Earlier today he said he was nipping to the Post Office to pay the “Carr Tax”.’

Anna Roche tweeted: ‘The next episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats is going to be awkward – “What’s the nation been talking about this week?” “Jimmy Carr is a tax avoider”.’

Irving Hill tweeted: ‘So not only is Jimmy Carr not funny but somehow he manages to pay less tax than a cleaner.’

Others were quick to use the revelations about Carr to criticise the tax system.

One wrote: ‘I’m more angry at a system that allows the rich to pay just 1 per cent tax than I am at Jimmy Carr for taking advantage of it.’

Meanwhile, former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Prescott tweeted: ‘Just read that shocking secret about Jimmy Carr in The Times. Never knew he was a comedian.’

Article first published on www.dailymail.co.uk     Read Full Article