Culture minister Màxim Huerta resigns over 'tax issues'
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 @ 9:54 PM
CURRENTLY the shortest-lived minister in Spain's democracy, author and newspaper columnist Màxim Huerta has quit his role as head of culture, media and sports after leaked reports of how he has a previous charge of tax evasion against his name.
Between 2006 and 2008 inclusive, Huerta – who writes for the left-wing daily newspaper 20 Minutos– avoided paying €218,000 in income tax by setting up a front company for his annual declarations, meaning he was liable for less.
At the time, Huerta was a TV presenter, and the case was finally resolved last year by the regional High Court of Justice in Madrid with a verdict ordering him to refund the unpaid tax and stump up a fine to the tune of €366,000.
The dormant company was 'open' from 2006 to 2016 inclusive, but Huerta used it as a 'structure' for his tax payments for the first three only.
During these three years, he earnt around €800,000 for presenting the Telecinco show El Programa de Ana Rosa – which is still running and, famously, recently featured stage saboteur Jimmy Jump camping outside ex-Catalunya president Carles Puigdemont's prison cell in Germany.
Huerta insists that his dispute with the tax authority was due to 'a change in fiscal criteria' and that he had always been 'up to date' with his dues.
“Invoicing through a company was common practice in the profession and was not considered illegal at the time,” he insists.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com