Rupert Grint loses bid for $1.3 million tax refund

Rupert Grint has lost his bid to get a $1.34 million tax refund from the British government.

The 27-year-old Harry Potter actor has been involved in a dispute with U.K. tax authorities Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over his tax returns from 2008-2010.

Grint had appealed after tax inspectors prevented him from changing his accounting dates so that his earnings would be safe from the higher 50 per cent tax rate. If the date change had been accepted, it would have led to a 10 per cent saving of about $1.34 million, Judge Barbara Mosedale said on Tuesday (09Aug16), according to Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

The judge stressed that Grint was not accused of tax avoidance, but said that he didn't have the accounts showing the correct accounting period for the change so rejected his appeal.

During his initial hearing, Grint said he left his financial matters up to his father Nigel and his accountant Dan Clay, at the firm Clay & Associates. He told the court: "I didn't really have a reason to question them (the accounts). I am not too great. My knowledge of this is quite limited so I put a lot of faith and trust in Dan's knowledge."

Judge Mosedale said during her ruling on Tuesday that Grint had made it clear "that he placed his faith in his father and accountants to deal with his financial affairs".