TaxJul 27 2018

Thierry Henry's former agent told to pay £1.2m in tax

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Thierry Henry's former agent told to pay £1.2m in tax

Thierry Henry's former football agent has lost a £1.2m tax battle with HM Revenue & Customs.

Jerome Anderson, together with eight other people, failed in his attempt to avoid a large amount of tax after his case was heard at the Upper Tribunal.

The scheme involved investments in the recruitment and training of young footballers at the Bafana Soccer Academy in South Africa.

Penny Ciniewicz, HMRC’s director general for customer compliance, said: "Our public services rely on everyone paying their taxes and it’s unfair for people not to pay their share.

"Anyone who’s caught up in tax avoidance and wants to put it behind them should come forward now and settle what they owe."

Mr Anderson attempted to use the investment to claim a £3m artificial trading loss to reduce his tax bill by huge amounts of money.

The tribunal found Mr Anderson’s activities were more like those of an investor, and this didn’t show that he was trading.

This decision means he could not claim a trading loss and tax was due.

Mr Anderson, who has retired as a football agent, represented some well-known footballers, including Arsenal stars Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Ian Wright.

He also advised former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on his takeover of Manchester City in 2007.

damian.fantato@ft.com