One of the key trends in football finance in recent months has been a closer interest by HM Revenue and Customs in the tax affairs of football clubs. This is not surprising against a background of a shortfall of tax revenue given that many clubs seem to regard it as acceptable to default on their tax obligations. They have become suspicious of image rights deals which often appear to be artificial contrivances to avoid tax liabilities.
One of the key trends in football finance in recent months has been a closer interest by HM Revenue and Customs in the tax affairs of football clubs. This is not surprising against a background of a shortfall of tax revenue given that many clubs seem to regard it as acceptable to default on their tax obligations. They have become suspicious of image rights deals which often appear to be artificial contrivances to avoid tax liabilities.
Now the tax authorities are taking a close interest in the number of clubs that are based in offshore tax havens. These are not just Premier League clubs such as Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and (inevitably) Portsmouth, but also smaller clubs such as Ipswich Town and Hartlepool United. It means that foreign owners can legally transfer untaxed income into clubs and allows foreign players to pay less tax.