BASINGSTOKE Town chairman Rafi Razzak says the club has cleared its debt to the taxman and he expects the winding-up petition issued against the club to be withdrawn today.
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) applied for the petition in December, and a |hearing at London’s High Court saw Registrar Mr Simmonds adjourn the petition, giving the club 56 days to pay the balance owed or face being placed in the hands of an official receiver.
That time is up today – but Razzak says the £12,000 debt was paid off a couple of weeks ago, though he declined to |disclose where the money had come from.
He is far from happy about the way the club has been treated by the Revenue, but he expects the matter to come to a conclusion without any further drama.
“It’s all paid for and finished with, but we just needed to wait until February 4 for the matter to be officially settled,” Razzak said. “We are glad it is all behind us now and we can move on.
“I am not happy at all about what happened. I think it is |farcical and there was just no need for them to issue a winding-up petition. It was just a |disruption and a waste of time, especially considering how much we had reduced the debt.”
The problem stems from a £140,000 debt the club owed HMRC when Razzak took over as chairman two years ago.
The board came to a deal with the taxman, agreeing to pay the debt off at a rate of £5,000 a month, which the club has been doing. The debt was down to £12,000 and would have been paid off by now, but HMRC demanded that the balance be paid immediately after Town failed to make a payment on time.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here