HMRC have been condemned after seemingly mocking Luke Littler.
The 16-year-old won a huge £200,000 after reaching the final of the World Darts Championship, where he lost to Luke Humphries.
Littler gave his all during the competition.
And while he fell at the final hurdle, his bank account has now increased substantially due to the huge prize money on offer.
Big congrats to Luke on his fantastic run to the final. We can confirm the existence of income tax. https://t.co/mT9imXtrX8
— HMRC Press Office (@HMRCpressoffice) January 4, 2024
However, it has since transpired that Littler is poised to lose around £83,000 of his winnings due to tax.
Andrew Mangion, Head of Tax Product at Saxo, said: "Everybody needs to pay tax, no matter their age, and under 18s have the same personal allowance as adults.
"Normally children don’t work or if they do, their pay is generally under the tax free allowance.
"In this case, it's rare for a teenager to come into so much money in one lump sum and we would advise him to take professional financial advice on how to best act on this."
Saxo say Littler will have to forfeit £76,203 in tax, as well as £7,330 in National Insurance.
That amounts to roughly £86,000.
HMRC have now stuck the knife into Littler, causing controversy in the process.
On X, they said: "Big congrats to Luke on his fantastic run to the final.
"We can confirm the existence of income tax."
But their message hasn't gone down well, with fans online venting their fury.
"Parasites," said one user.
"Don't we know it. Stay in the shadows HMRC. No witty banter. You should be seen and not heard," ranted a second.
A third raged: "It's really something when your government feels comfortable smugly bragging about how they f**k you over."
A fourth said: "Please take the intern away from the laptop, you’re an official government department not a standup comedian."
And a fifth fumed: "Any chance of finally getting the tax rebate you've owed me for months? Or employing people who can actually pick up a f***ing phone?"
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Luke Littler won £200,000 while playing at the recent World Darts Championship
PA
Littler will still have plenty of money left over.
But, like many others, the 16-year-old will no doubt be feeling irked by having to pay so much tax.
Littler was asked what he'll spend his winnings on after his defeat to Humphries.
The youngster replied by saying: “I always treat myself to some Under Armour tracksuits.
“And just get myself a new coat and get myself some Fifa points for my Xbox.
Luke Littler is set to lose around £83,000 due to tax
GETTY
"That’s pretty much it.”
As for Humphries, the darts star said he had no issue with the Ally Pally crowd preferring Littler during their recent showdown.
"No I thought the crowd were fantastic," he said.
"Of course, the fairytale was for Luke Littler to win and I think they would have all loved to have seen him win because it was a fairytale story.
"But I felt the crowd were fantastic, they allowed the game to flow, allowed us both to be at the best of our abilities and we put on one of the great world finals that there's been.
"It was a privilege to be a part of it."