British Prime Minister David Cameron has branded comedian Jimmy Carr "morally wrong" for seeking to avoid taxes.
Media reports of Mr Carr's tax arrangements suggest he is undertaking "straightforward tax avoidance", said Mr Cameron.
He said it was unfair on the people who pay to watch the comic perform that he is not paying his taxes in the same way that they do.
Speaking to ITV News during a round of TV interviews during his trip to Mexico, Mr Cameron said: "I think some of these schemes - and I think particularly of the Jimmy Carr scheme - I have had time to read about and I just think this is completely wrong.
"People work hard, they pay their taxes, they save up to go to one of his shows. They buy the tickets. He is taking the money from those tickets and he, as far as I can see, is putting all of that into some very dodgy tax avoiding schemes.
"That is wrong. There is nothing wrong with people planning their tax affairs to invest in their pension and plan for their retirement - that sort of tax management is fine.
"But some of these schemes we have seen are quite frankly morally wrong.
Mr Carr is said to have used an aggressive - but legal - tax-avoidance scheme which enables members to pay income tax rates as low as 1%.
The comic, who has famously lampooned fat cat bankers, reportedly protects some £3.3m a year by channelling cash through Jersey-based company K2.
He spoke out over the claims during a show in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, last night, reportedly saying: "I pay what I have to and not a penny more."
Mr Carr is said to be one of more than 1,000 beneficiaries who shelter some £168m from the taxman each year using K2. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said the K2 scheme was already under investigation.
It has also been alleged that Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Take That manager Jonathan Wild had invested at least £26 million in a scheme run by Icebreaker Management Services.
HMRC said they have already successfully challenged an scheme run by Icebreaker 1 LLP, winning on the main arguments in the tribunals.
But Icebreaker Management Services maintained today that they work "within the law".
