Keith Wyness

[eric woolban woolban]

He hasn’t tweeted since before Saturday’s game...

A wild guess but perhaps he is on holiday.

With the missing tax money

It was only resting in my account.

[Chris Harte]

From Sky
One source suggested that he had been suspended after informing Mr Xia that the club would have to file for administration if it could not meet its tax obligations.

The last time I looked, Dr T didn't have a scar across one eye and own a white fluffy cat.

[VinnieChase84]

Let’s not kid ourselves here. We’re are in serious shit. Things don’t add up as to Wyness would be the one suspended. Feeling like this is tip of the iceberg.

[ChicagoLion]

So the club are not even saying they will pay in full,
“ confident of making a substantial payment “
Oh fuck.

[Risso]

I don’t think it’s just a technicality. The club hasn’t made a profit in ages, so we’re not talking about corporation tax. That means it’s almost certainly PAYE, which means we’ve not been paying it on a monthly basis. You don’t get threatened with a winding up order for being a few days late with a payment or a clerical error that you put right when you spot it a few days later.

Everything is automated these days, payroll software makes the calculations, submits the online RTI submission to HMRC and then the payment gets sent.  Unless the cash isn’t there, which considering the story this morning about selling the transfer debt is very worrying indeed.

[joe_c]

Having worked in ramshackle outsourced payroll operations where missed payments to staff, HMRC, Pension funds and other third parties did happen with surprising, it was never someone that far up the food chain who was culpable and required to face the consequences. And I don't recall HMRC going nuclear quite so quickly if at all. So I'm a tad worried about this.

[ChicagoLion]

I don’t think it’s just a technicality. The club hasn’t made a profit in ages, so we’re not talking about corporation tax. That means it’s almost certainly PAYE, which means we’ve not been paying it on a monthly basis. You don’t get threatened with a winding up order for being a few days late with a payment or a clerical error that you put right when you spot it a few days later.

Everything is automated these days, payroll software makes the calculations, submits the online RTI submission to HMRC and then the payment gets sent.  Unless the cash isn’t there, which considering the story this morning about selling the transfer debt is very worrying indeed.

Yep I am afraid you are right, this is serious shit.

[GarTomas]

From Sky:


Aston Villa suspends CEO as club races to meet HMRC tax bill

The multimillion pound tax bill was due to be paid just days after Villa's Championship play-off final defeat, Sky News learns.


By Mark Kleinman, City editor

Aston Villa Football Club has suspended its chief executive just days after losing the match badged as the most lucrative in world football, as it faces the potential threat of a winding-up order over a multimillion pound tax bill.

Sky News has learnt that Villa, which last month lost the Championship play-off final against Fulham, has been given a brief extension by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to make the payment.

One source said the bill was due to be paid last week, and that the grace period to make the payment could be as short as a week.

If HMRC did serve a winding-up order against Villa, it could threaten the existence of one of the founder members of the English Football League in 1888.

However, a source close to the club insisted on Tuesday that its board was "confident of making a substantial tax payment within days".

On Tuesday, Villa suspended Keith Wyness, its chief executive since 2016, amid what sources described as efforts by him to find new funding to see the club through its current funding crisis.

Villa's financial travails since missing out on promotion to the Premier League are well-documented, with John Terry, the former Chelsea and England central defender, leaving the club shortly after the defeat.

Tony Xia, a Chinese businessman, bought Villa from Randy Lerner in 2016 but is reported to have held talks with potential buyers in recent days.

In a statement issued in response to an enquiry from Sky News, a spokesman said:

"Aston Villa Football Club can confirm that Chief Executive, Keith Wyness, has been suspended by the club with immediate effect.

"Owner and Chairman, Dr Tony Xia will assume the role until further notice.

"There will be no further comment from the club at this time."

There is no suggestion that Mr Wyness has been accused of any wrongdoing.

One source suggested that he had been suspended after informing Mr Xia that the club would have to file for administration if it could not meet its tax obligations.

Makes our owner sound like a Bond villain.....

[Drummond]

Of course Xia being a proud man may have had a bearing on this. He'll no doubt be mortified at this turn of events.

That Sky report saying there is no suggestion Wyness has done anything wrong is bollocks, you don't suspend someone for doing everything right!

[chrisw1]

Reducing the salary bill.  Shrewd work by Tone.

[Jon Crofts]

Wake me up when this is all over with.

[Risso]

Of course Xia being a proud man may have had a bearing on this. He'll no doubt be mortified at this turn of events.

That Sky report saying there is no suggestion Wyness has done anything wrong is bollocks, you don't suspend someone for doing everything right!

I think by wrong they probably mean illegal in that sense!

Fucking amateurs, the finances were a shambles under Lerner, and they now look even worse under Xia.

[ChicagoLion]

Of course Xia being a proud man may have had a bearing on this. He'll no doubt be mortified at this turn of events.

That Sky report saying there is no suggestion Wyness has done anything wrong is bollocks, you don't suspend someone for doing everything right!

I don’t see how you can give Xia a free pass at this stage.

[Lastfootstamper]

Reducing the salary bill.  Shrewd work by Tone.

Like.

[Drummond]

Of course Xia being a proud man may have had a bearing on this. He'll no doubt be mortified at this turn of events.

That Sky report saying there is no suggestion Wyness has done anything wrong is bollocks, you don't suspend someone for doing everything right!

I don’t see how you can give Xia a free pass at this stage.

He's owner and chairman and employs a big team to do this sort of routine stuff.