When the body is a work tool, certain expenses can be the subject of debate. An OnlyFans user managed to convince the UK government to make breast augmentation a legitimate business expense and receive tax benefits. It became the first known case of this practice coming from the platform, reports the independent.
Onlyfans is a platform for sharing photos and videos, especially erotic or pornographic content. To access it you have to pay directly to the creators of the content, who set the price of your subscription. On the other side of the Channel, OnlyFans has around 100,000 “influencers” and the average cost of a breast augmentation operation ranges between 4,000 and 9,000 euros, according to the NHS, the country’s public health system.
The UK Customs and Revenue Authority (HMRC) allows self-employed “artists or entertainers” to claim reimbursement for cosmetic surgery operations, provided they prove they are professionals.
Review the legislation
Such a tax benefit was first claimed in 2003 by a television presenter to straighten teeth. These rules then made it possible to claim reimbursement for facelifts, breast implants, injections, or teeth whitening.
Rachel Harris, an accountant whose many clients work at OnlyFans, interviewed by the daily mail, considers that this system of tax advantages is “obsolete”. “These rules were put in place at a time when people weren’t creating the kind of content they are creating today,” he explains.
For its part, HMRC reacted by insisting that “it is highly unlikely that a non-health related operation would be an eligible expense.” And the matter becomes political when the English parliamentarian Alexander Stafford is involved: “I am sure that most taxpayers will not be happy to know that tax breaks are used in this way. That is why I think that ‘it is completely justified re- examine these rules related to aesthetic procedures’, he reacted to the English newspaper.
Source: BFM TV
