Wayne Rooney hit with £5m tax bill after 'investing in controversial avoidance scheme'

Wayne Rooney has been hit with a multimillion pound tax bill after HM Revenue & Customs challenged a suspected tax avoidance scheme he invested in, according to reports.

The Everton star is reported to have been told to pay £5m after he was told a film investment finance scheme had been ruled tax avoidance by the HRMC.

While there is no evidence Rooney did anything illegal, the former England captain is said be "furious" after he was told to invest in the scheme by advisors.

The scheme sought to reduce tax bills by claiming against early losses on films which later made money. According to the Sun, this enabled investors to set those losses against other taxable income.

However, as some of the movies went on to make money, HMRC argued that it was not legitimate investment but tax avoidance.

Other former footballers including Steve McManaman, Kevin Phillips and Ian Walker are also said to be expecting huge tax bills in relation to a separate scheme.

The film investment scheme used by Rooney, Invicta 43, is alleged to have generated tax relief for more than 200 individuals after purchasing the rights to two Hollywood films, Fred Claus and10,000 BC.

A source told the Sun: "Wayne has taken a grievous hit on this, and like a lot of the football lads he is furious. He was told by so-called experts to make investments and followed their advice.

"Now years later the taxman is after him for millions he is said to owe. It's ridiculous and unfair.

"Wayne earned so much in his career that he can cope, even though the bill is huge.

"It's others who have been pushed over the edge and really struggled."

It was previously reported that Manchester United's record goal scorer would face a £3.5million tax demand as a result of the investigation.