HMRC's hostile action is not only unwelcome but also destructive

[Hotman]

Bollocks.

I'm sure that the assurances of payment to HMRC, followed by a court case where an adjournment was offered for the agreement of a payment plan, was considered "unwelcome but also destructive" by the Tax Office. Remember - this is either money deducted from players wages, or VAT charged on invoices - not the club's money in the first place.

I hate paying tax as much as anyone else, but I don't gamble it away, and don't fancy explaining that I can't pay a vat / ni bill because of a gamble.

Secondly, why do we have to protest and take the victim angle... Football Association against us with different interpretation of the rules... HMRC against us with different interpretation of the rules... Can't we just admit that we cocked up, overspent and it's gone pear shaped?

It's an embarrasment. Before this whole event I thought the club (bar Geoff King) were good at pr etc - there has been lies after lies - those that know, know.

 

[Csboy]

HMRC are getting tough on Football clubs now due to so many clubs in the past overlooking paying their taxes. Maybe in the past they would have given us more time but they have changed their policy.

Our mess is due in no small part to the way other clubs have acted over paying their taxes over the years.

 

[Hotman]

Sorry, I disagree. Our mess is our responsibility, through mismanaging the cashflow in one way or another, and robbing Peter to pay Paul. Peter is HMRC, eastwood money, etc. Who's Paul? Legal costs? Administrative expenses?...

 

[Hotman]

P.S. more time... You don't get taken to court overnight! Trust me on that one - HMRC are the most lenient that I've known them to be in this current downturn.

 

[Hotman]

What would everyones viewpoints be if (hypothetically) it was players not being paid who were the creditors?

Or local tradesmen who are about to be shafted, what if it was one of them who took the club to court and then enforced the judgement?

 

[OldBlueLady]

What would everyones viewpoints be if (hypothetically) it was players not being paid who were the creditors?

Or local tradesmen who are about to be shafted, what if it was one of them who took the club to court and then enforced the judgement?

I don't think it would be so massively different and I don't think there's any anger as such, being generated to HMRC. It's the futility of the WHOLE situation, the calling in and delay of the initial plans by central Government; the subsequent delays at SOSBC; the recession and whole meltdown in the loans market and the obvious implication on RM's business portfolio. It's a whole set of CIRCUMSTANCES - that's the way I see it anyway.

The fact that the players are still here at all if they are (hypothetically) victims of late wage payments is a miracle in itself to me, and I sincerely hope that people will cut them some (hypothetical) slack from now on.

 

[Hotman]

hypothetically some of them might have already left due to hypothetical non-payment.

 

[class]

hypothetically some of them might have already left due to hypothetical non-payment.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

 

[bazzashrimper]

why would players (ie grant) sign contract extensions if he was not getting paid on a regular basis?

 

[Hotman]

why would players (ie grant) sign contract extensions if he was not getting paid on a regular basis?

of course, it's a silly hypothetical scenario. Thank god.

 

[Lord Football]

RM's statement is an utter crock of *****.

HMRC could easily have wound the club up tomorrow. They haven't. The fault here lays with whoever allowed this amount of unpaid tax to build up. HMRC clearly think that they can get some payment by putting the club into administration - that perversley is quite positive. If they didn't think the club was in a position to do so, we'd have been history tomorrow.

HMRC's only concern is the public purse, and it will do what it needs to to ensure payment is made. Let's not forget, it gave the Club months to find the cash, and it seems they haven't.

 

[McNasty]

Please don't forget that this money has been deducted from the player's wages , probably over quite a period of time, it is not an amount of cash being demanded out of the blue -- it is a debt being demanded out of the blues.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

P.S. more time... You don't get taken to court overnight! Trust me on that one - HMRC are the most lenient that I've known them to be in this current downturn.

I'd agree with that. They've been far more hard-line in the past - but, in a downturn, I'm sure that the government has told them that it doesn't do to be winding up companies and potentially lengthening dole queues by acting too aggressively.

Matt