Taxman bids to wind up Macclesfield Town over tax debt of nearly £189k
Macclesfield Town bosses have been given a week to show that a debt of nearly £189,000 can be cleared following a winding up bid by tax officials.
Last updated 9th Sep 2020
A judge considered a winding up application by HM Revenue and Customs at a virtual hearing in the specialist Insolvency and Companies Court on Wednesday.
Judge Sally Barber was told the football club had a tax debt totalling nearly £189,000, and owed more than £700,000 in total.
She said she wanted evidence of Macclesfield's ability to pay the tax debt and said the case would be reconsidered on September 16.
Macclesfield have recently been relegated from the fourth tier of league football into non-league football.
The English Football League said in August that Macclesfield had been relegated from Sky Bet League Two to the National League, following an independent arbitration panel decision.
Barrister Raj Arumugam, who represented HMRC, told Judge Barber that the club had a tax debt of nearly £189,000.
He said eight other creditors, one of which is former manager Sol Campbell, were owed, in total, more than £500,000.
Mr Arumugam said the total debt was more than £700,000.
He said Macclesfield's case had been considered four times and the winding up application had originally been made more than a year ago.
A barrister representing Macclesfield said negotiations for a sale of the club were at an advanced stage.
Niall McCulloch said bosses expected to complete a sale by the end of September and he said the tax debt would be paid.
Judge Barber said she wanted Macclesfield bosses to file evidence to show that funds were available in the next seven days.
Mr McCulloch said Macclesfield bosses disputed the amount Mr Campbell, a former Tottenham and England defender, said he was owed.
He said that dispute was the subject of ongoing arbitration.
Mr McCulloch also said the club was appealing against the relegation decision.
Macclesfield were relegated after being docked points for breaches of regulations relating to non-payment of wages and dropping to the bottom of League Two.