Interim England Boss Southgate & Other Leading Figures in Football Caught Up in £620m Tax Row
Gareth Southgate has become embroiled in a tax avoidance scandal that threatens to overshadow his first match as interim England manager.
The temporary Three Lions boss is part of £620m dispute with HMRC over investments made to film company Ingenious, "?according to the Daily Mirror.
Companies House lists Southgate as a member of two limited liability partnerships (or LLP) - Track 1 LLP and Track 3 LLP - that handed money over to the firm in 2004, but along with up to 400 other investors including David Beckham and TV stars Ant & Dec, the 46-year-old has been hit with the bill following a tax tribunal ruling.
The news comes as a blow to both Southgate and the FA, with the latter still reeling from the revelations concerning former manager Sam Allardyce over how to avoid third-party ownership rules.
Ingenious helped to stump up the cash required to fund blockbuster movies such as Avatar and Life of Pi, but now finds itself facing a bill of £434m plus legal fees and interest payments adding up to a fee of around £620m.
Investors such as Southgate are believed to have backed the company with the intention of helping to kickstart the British film industry, but after Ingenious posted a reported £1.6bn loss between 2002-2010, attempted to allow individual investors to write personal debts off against their own incomes.
New England boss Gareth Southgate caught up in £620million 'tax dodge' row over investments in film backer Ingenious https://t.co/huwPfdvjCU
However, following the court ruling, financial supporters of Ingenious must now aid the company in paying the disputed figure.
Back in August a spokesman for Ingenious stated that the firm would challenge the ruling made by HMRC.
The spokesman said: "We have consistently maintained that our film production partnerships were bona fide businesses run for profit and we are pleased that the tribunal has recognised this.
"However we dispute the basis on which the tribunal has restricted loss relief to investors and are therefore considering an appeal."?
Southgate is expected to take charge of England's senior national side for four matches after Allardyce was relieved of his duties in September.
The former Middlesbrough player and manager will oversee 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Malta, Slovenia and Scotland, as well as November's friendly encounter with Spain.
Southgate will earn a reported £500,000 for the quartet of games, and could be handed the job on a permanent basis if he proves to be successful in the role.
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