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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
Sport
David Byrom

Championship clubs threaten to withhold tax as EFL urge government to help

The EFL have sent a written submission to the government, urging them to agree to a host of proposals as many of its member clubs face breaking point.

Included in the submission are proposals to defer tens of millions of pounds of tax payments, lowering VAT to five per cent and an expansion of the Job Support Scheme in an attempt to avoid redundancies.

The Daily Mail report that a number of Championship clubs are concerned that they will not be able to pay staff in full this month unless help is forthcoming. It is unknown if Bristol City are one of those clubs.

EFL rules regarding non-payment of taxes have once again been relaxed due to clubs struggling financially.

Payment of taxes were placed on hold for three months when the pandemic first struck, with a number of clubs having agreed individual payment plans with HMRC for any deferred payments.

Yet some clubs are said to have threatened to withhold further payments due to the government’s lack of financial assistance to the EFL.

In the EFL’s written submission, they argue that VAT should be reduced to five per cent for football clubs to bring them in line with the leisure and tourism industry.

The EFL have also urged the government to expand their Job Support Scheme, with many clubs fearing the current system will be of no use to them.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak recently announced changes to the scheme, which is set to replace the furlough system, with the maximum payment of wages now at £1,541.75 a month.

Yet many clubs are still concerned that there will be hundreds of redundancies across the EFL.

The EFL are said to have offered emergency loans to clubs in an attempt to prevent them from going out of business.

Bristol City - via Ashton Gate Stadium - announced redundancies back in July.

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