The BBC is very grumpy about having to publish star salaries
In a statement in the House of Commons, culture secretary Karen Bradley said the BBC must publish the salaries of all "staff" who earn more than £150,000 ($198,000) a year.
But the BBC's soon to be abolished governing body, the BBC Trust, said it was "disappointed" by the plans.
Trust chairman Rona Fairhead explained: "We don't agree with the government on everything and are disappointed with the decision on the disclosure of presenters' pay. We don't believe this is in the long-term interests of licence fee payers."
BBC director general Tony Hall was equally unhappy. He added: "The BBC operates in a competitive market and this will not make it easier for the BBC to retain the talent the public love. Ultimately, the BBC should be judged on the quality of its programmes."
The star salary transparency proposals are contained in the BBC's draft royal charter, which was published alongside Bradley's statement in Parliament on Thursday. The charter will be the BBC's operating agreement for the next 11 years.
The charter only says that BBC "staff" will have to disclose their pay in the corporation's annual report from next year. This means that actors and presenters paid through independent production companies may dodge the transparency proposals.
Actors including "Poldark" star Aidan Turner and "The Great British Bake Off" presenters Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins fall into this category because they don't have contracts directly with the BBC.
Big stars on the BBC's wage bill, who will almost certainly have to publish their pay, include political editor Laura Kuenssberg, "Question Time" host David Dimbleby, and sports presenter Gary Lineker.
Other key details in the draft BBC charter:
- The BBC will have control of its powerful new governance board. The government originally wanted to to appoint the lion's share of the board's members, but the BBC said this would threaten its independence. The board will have 14 members, nine of which will be hired by the BBC.
- Ofcom will begin regulating the BBC on 3 April 2016. As part of its duties, the UK media regulator will handle all audience complaints about impartiality in the BBC's news output. This is currently handled by the now axed BBC Trust.