Pay Up Pompey,Pompey Pay Up!

[Summerof69]

Britain has had high taxes for fooking years.  Why would the mass exodus because of it start now?

Because the top rate of tax has gone up from 40 to 50%.

[jonny72]

In fairness to him, Allardyce is just confirming what people in other sports are saying. Usain Bolt has stated several times this year that he wont run in this country because of the Tax levels, so its something which is a bigger issue than just football.

The Usain Bolt issue is a slightly different issue and applies to all non-UK based sportsmen coming to the UK, where they can get hit for a lot of extra taxes just for performing in the UK for a single day. Using Bolt as an example, if he runs 12 races in a year and 1 of them is in the UK then he has to pay full UK taxes on 1/12th of his total worldwide income for the year. It would actually cost Bolt money if he was to run in the UK as the extra taxes would be higher than his race fee.

This is the issue that has prevented us getting major football finals in the UK - the extra taxes players would have to pay. The government had to agree to waive the taxes for us to get the Champions League final.

[Ardiles]

Decision imminent, according to reports.

[Summerof69]

Apparently Andronikou's not turned up at the High Court...

[Summerof69]

HMRC lose...

[Power to people]

I wonder what the details are though.......time will tell if everything was rejected

[Summerof69]

Wonder if HMRC will appeal?

[ghanimah]

HMRC lose...

Unsurprising. I presume we will now hear the modest dulcet tones of Andronikou on the air waves.

[Ardiles]

HMRC will not appeal. Portsmouth are in the clear.

[Power to people]

I do find it odd that the judge ruled against HMRC on all accounts, expected them to perhaps get something small if I'm honest

[alanmayes]

Mr Justice Mann has announced in the High Court that he has found against an application by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs that the company voluntary arrangement brokered with creditors to bring the club out of administration was flawed.

And lawyers for the HMRC said they would not appeal today's judgment. Pompey's administrators immediately asked the court for £230,000 costs from the taxman.

Mr Justice Mann said: 'I find that none of the five heads of attack by HMRC amount to unfiar prejudice nor have they been materially affected.

'In my view, HMRC will not be worse off by the situation left by the CVA bearing in mind what the alternatives could be for the club.

'Those alternatives are liquidation, or expulsion from the Football League or worse, bearing in mind the loss of a lot of their assets.'

The judge saidc that without the Company Voluntary Agreement, there was no hope of keeping the club afloat.

He said: 'There is no worthwhile way of money coming into the club other than by the CVA.'

He said that in his opinion Balram Chainrai was the only possible new owner.

He said: 'Mr Chainrai was the owner of the club at the time of its demise and he is the only possible new owner now.

'There is no reason to suppose there is anyone else interested at all that would keep the club's status in the Championship.'

In a statement, HMRC said: 'HMRC is naturally disappointed not to have won this appeal and we can confirm that we do not intend to appeal.

'Our aim when pursuing debt of any kind is to achieve a fair outcome for the taxpayer and we will take this forward in the wider context of the football industry through separate and outstanding legal proceedings over the status of the so called "Football Creditors Rule.

'This is an important and complex judgment and until we have had the opportunity to study it in detail we can't comment further.'

[Ardiles]

I am really quite surprised by this.  Football clubs will now know that if there is a realistic prospect of their going under as a result of a CVA failing, HMRC (or any other creditor) will lose every time.

I'm pleased that Portsmouth FC live to see another day, but I don't think it's right.

[jonny72]

I am really quite surprised by this.  Football clubs will now know that if there is a realistic prospect of their going under as a result of a CVA failing, HMRC (or any other creditor) will lose every time.

I'm pleased that Portsmouth FC live to see another day, but I don't think it's right.

Not sure it's quite like that. It appears HMRC were claiming they'd been screwed over and the Judge ruled that they hadn't been, as they were actually better off with the CVA in place than if it weren't. There hasn't been any comment on their main points (image rights and the football creditors rule) and I'm guessing there won't be as these will be covered by further court action.

[Summerof69]

Seemingly, no comment was made also about the 'image rights'. I can see HMRC going after individual players/officials over possible tax avoidance.

[pauld]

Not sure it's quite like that. It appears HMRC were claiming they'd been screwed over and the Judge ruled that they hadn't been, as they were actually better off with the CVA in place than if it weren't.

That's pretty much it jonny - as we commented a few days back, HMRC have an excellent moral case on both football creditors rule and the use of image rights as tax evasion. But that wasn't what was being discussed in court - they seem to have made a rather half-arsed clumsy attempt to piggy-back trying to establish case law on these (important) points on the back of challenging the CVA. And the judge clearly wasn't going to wear it.

Pleased for Portsmouth fans though. Well, after a fashion. They've "won" being pretty much immediately handed over to Chainrai who was deeply involved in the shenannigans of last year that finally brought them down and 5-8 years of Andronikou. Their troubles aren't over yet by a long way