Guernsey Image Rights - An Update Via HMRC

From its inception, the Guernsey Image Right was never a tax product, but an IP one. It is ironic, therefore, that a synopsis of the benefits over unregistered rights has been issued by the body governing the collection of taxes in the UK - HMRC.

In an update to its practice manual HMRC has set out the position relating to image rights in the UK and how the lack of any formal right there potentially impacts upon any sports stars or celebrities who have, or are entering into, contracts for their image rights. In a step by step analysis, HMRC effectively explains the current position in the UK vis-a-vis image rights and the potential tax treatment of those various rights.

To summarise its manual update, HMRC broadly states the following:-