Why is it they always go after the wrong targets? If they imagine football has an untapped source of billions of potential taxes concentrate on the Premiership.
The only clubs they can target are those that haven't been paying their taxes, and I'd imagine the bigger clubs – even those that have been racking up their debts – have that covered. As we all know, once you start going down the leagues the income of clubs gets smaller and smaller, and that's when bills stop getting paid – stuff like PAYE.
Wednesday's total owings wouldn't come to anything near those of, say, Manchester United or Liverpool, but while the big boys have banks who seem only too happy to continue to indulge their massive debts the smaller clubs don't have such luxuries and instead owe cash to organisations such as HMRC who are perfectly prepared to pursue them for what they owe.
Still, as long as the cash continues to roll in for the big boys all is well with the world...
It's thanks to those bastards [the Premier League] the rest of English football hasn't got a pot to piss in
Too true.
A case in point – new(ish) Manchester City signing Yaya Toure will be earning in the region of £220,000 a week when the new tax bracket comes in. Wednesday owe the tax man £550,000 – so their total owings to HMRC could be paid off by Toure in two-and-a-half weeks. Meanwhile, his image rights payment from City – reckoned to be £1.65m a year – would easily cover Cardiff's current tax debt which is said to stand at £1.3m.
That's just one player. It says it all, really. And on the subject of tax, he'll apparently pocket a £823,000 bonus each time City qualify for the Champions League, a further £412,000 bonus should they win it, plus bonuses for Premier League and FA Cup successes – and it's all tax free.
Let's remember
that the next time Andy Gray or one of his gurning cronies tells us it's The Best League In The World™. Never mind the banks or HMRC – it's time to pay the piper.
