mat wrote:
Wouldn't hmrc have picked up on fact a business, which was previously paying vat on 10k+ gate receipts (x13 games per yr), and had been making similar sized payments for the previous decade, was suddenly paying next to nothing. Would have thought that would be caught in first yr at the longest.
Correct mat. The vat mans computers do sense checks on returns and if a figure is outside whatever parameters they set you get a phone call asking for an explanation and a date for an inspection. the question is the parameters they set: in my experience it is when you make a reclaim after consistently paying, but that was a good few years ago and they may well have fine tuned the parameters. certainly the Bulls would be a big reduction that would eventually have been picked up in an inspection visit, even then the club might have fought it however googling bradford bulls VAT appeal does not come up with anything.
PS just googled "VAT on club memberships" and OK i've only skimmed it: although it says that rugby league clubs are a sporting activity to which it applies, it also says that social or NON PLAYING MEMBERSHIP subscriptions are STANDARD RATED, which is in VAT Notice 701/45 (revised Aug 2011). It also says that commercial enterprises are not eligible bodies, and I dont think Bulls Holdings have secretly converted to a charity.
So there it is. My instincts based on a rule of thumb calculation, subsequently voiced by another poster, that two years VAT would cause instant admin are supported by the VAT Notices. you would have to be a real weasel of a VAT advisor to get anything significant past the rules. Anybody see a credible weasel at Odsal a couple of years ago?
Adey can you come back please!
