Football Clubs and the Taxman

As at April 2010 football clubs in the Premiership and Football League owed the Inland Revenue £22M in updaid VAT, PAYE and NI.

The details obtained through a Freedom of Informaion request have been published by the FSF (Football Supporters Federation) and add wait to remarks earlier this week from Reading chairman, Sir John Madejski, that clubs need to put their finances in order.

The Premier League’s 20 clubs owed £14.4m between them while the Football League’s 72 clubs collectively owed £7.4m. The outstanding or overdue taxes owed to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by football clubs were:

•Premier League (20 clubs) £14,407,106
•Championship (24 clubs) £6,412,370
•League One (24 clubs) £461,859
•League Two (24 clubs) £534,242
•Conference (68 clubs) £344,955

(Most recent full year figures available, to end of 2009-10 tax year)

Premier League clubs accounted for 65% of football’s total tax debt while the Championship made up 29% of the total. League One, League Two, and the Conference made up 2% each of the remaining debt. The average top-flight club owed £720,355 while the average Championship club owed £267,182. Tax debt decreased rapidly beyond that with League One (£19,244), League Two (£22,260), and Conference (£5,073) clubs owing far less on average.

More details on the FSF Website - www.fsf.org.uk/news

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