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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Wed 3 Sep 12:11
Did anyone else watch this documentary on BBC2 last night about a group of ex-English Premiership players who are being pursued by HMRC for unpaid tax on tax relief they say was wrongly claimed when they made various investments on the advice of a firm of financial advisors? The investments were mainly in property and films and collapsed for various reasons. The police investigated and agreed the players had been the victims of fraud but said they had insufficient evidence to secure a conviction and abandoned the case. HMRC claim that, as the law stands, the players are still liable for the tax which amounts to millions of pounds.
The players featured were only a sample of those affected. They played around the turn of the century when wages were taking off but hadn`t reached the astronomical heights they have now and the League wasn`t dominated by foreign players. They had plenty of spare cash to invest and were attractive clients for financial advisors. Some were now suffering mentally from the threat to their finances and home lives and at least one had been declared bankrupt and forced to sell his house. The most prominent player featured was probably Danny Murphy who admitted he had turned to drink, drugs and gambling to cope with the pressure. They have asked a group of MPs to help change the law so the present generation of players are protected better against similar experiences.
It should be available to view on the BBC iplayer.
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Topic Originator: sadindiefreak
Date: Wed 3 Sep 12:22
Rich footballers tried to avoid paying the tax they were due. It didn`t work out for them.
F**k them, pay your taxes.
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Topic Originator: Turps
Date: Wed 3 Sep 12:24
Quote:
sadindiefreak, Wed 3 Sept 12:22
Rich footballers tried to avoid paying the tax they were due. It didn`t work out for them.
F**k them, pay your taxes.
Did you watch it sadindiefreak?
It`s worth a watch. Would find it difficult to come to that conclusion after watching it.
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Topic Originator: GG Riva
Date: Wed 3 Sep 13:28
Quote:
Turps, Wed 3 Sept 12:24
Quote:
sadindiefreak, Wed 3 Sept 12:22
Rich footballers tried to avoid paying the tax they were due. It didn`t work out for them.
F**k them, pay your taxes.
Did you watch it sadindiefreak?
It`s worth a watch. Would find it difficult to come to that conclusion after watching it.
Perhaps not if someone has made up their mind beforehand and is determined to stick to their prejudiced opinion, Turps. 🤔
Not your average Sunday League player.
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Wed 3 Sep 16:42
I`ve not watched the programme. So are they being pursued for not paying tax on money they earned which they then lost through an alleged fraudulent scheme?
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: Pars Athletic
Date: Wed 3 Sep 17:15
Basically they put money into schemes that would make them pay less tax. But the financial advisors screwed them over by selling them dud portfolios and by the looks of it some fraud too. Even though the policies had no money left in them, HMRC are chasing them for tax owed on properties and houses because their name is on the documents. Houses and properties were sold at overinflated prices and people couldn`t afford the mortgages. Sad to see how it has affected people`s mental health, but let`s be honest they were originally trying to avoid paying the full amount of tax on their wages by putting money into these schemes. There will be many footballers at the highest level doing this today too.
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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Wed 3 Sep 17:18
They didn`t go into a lot of detail about that and there are different circumstances affecting different players. I think the basic issue is that they claimed tax relief at the time they made the investments which HMRC is now saying they were not entitled to. The fact that they were allegedly the victims of fraud doesn`t seem to matter.
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Topic Originator: Big T Par
Date: Wed 3 Sep 17:22
Danny Murphy was talking about this on Talksport today.
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Topic Originator: sonofpetrie
Date: Wed 3 Sep 17:22
Will never understand these guys. They were earning in a week what I earned in a year. Now some are earning 8-10 times that amount. I have built a very nice life for me and my family on what I earn but that has come from working from 16 to the nearly 50 I am now. They will never garner sympathy from me.
It`s really simple. Be sensible. Pay your tax. Think of your future.
"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary"
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Topic Originator: red-star-par
Date: Wed 3 Sep 18:13
It was a very good programme, took a lot of courage for them to come forward and fight this.
I did feel sorry for them now, but at the back of my mind I do wonder what their thoughts were on it at the time. I would imagine that they did know that the films and investments they were supposedly putting their money into were simply tax avoidance schemes. By the sounds of it, these "investments" were the talk of every dressing room, so I`d imagine they were all joking and laughing about how they were all getting one over on the taxman (and the rest of us mugs that pay our way).
If they hadn`t been so greedy at the time, paid their taxes properly, and made some decent financial decisions with a reputable Financial Adviser then they`d be living it up now on the money they were on then
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Topic Originator: Raymie the Legend
Date: Wed 3 Sep 18:16
Fair to say they didn’t read the script?
It`s bloody tough being a legend
Ron Atkinson - 1983
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Topic Originator: LochgellyAlbert
Date: Wed 3 Sep 18:40
We`re Rangers players not involved in similar schemes?
About the time McCoist was playing 🤔
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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Wed 3 Sep 18:57
Another dimension in these cases was that many of the players knew the two main advisors socially and a lot of the trust stemmed from that. One attended a player`s wedding. There was no doubt that, with hindsight, the players were naive but there were also allegations that some of their signatures on authorising documents were forged.
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Topic Originator: veteraneastender
Date: Wed 3 Sep 19:25
"The fact that they were allegedly the victims of fraud doesn`t seem to matter."
I got the impression that there was no deliberate fraud - just rank rotten financial advice, that`s why no criminal charges are involved - may be wrong on that aspect of course.
You have to question why these players didn`t seek second opinions, or at least hold back on investment monies so that they would not be left in the position they now find themselves in.
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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Wed 3 Sep 19:54
I thought the police were of the view that crime had occurred but didn`t think they had enough evidence to be sure of securing a conviction. It`s easy to say with hindsight that they should have sought a second opinion but how many people do that in practice?
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Topic Originator: veteraneastender
Date: Wed 3 Sep 20:17
If there is insufficient evidence to support fraud then that`s that, suggesting it is only wishful thinking.
If somebody is looking at investing large sums of monies it seems to be common sense to take other opinions and expert reviews before commitment.
According to Google these players were making significant money around 2000 - average of £650,000 or thereabouts annually - more than enough to allow for their futures if invested carefully.
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