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| Unpaid tax bill cost Rhyl their licence |
| Tuesday 22 June 2010 |
 AN unpaid tax bill cost Rhyl their place in the Welsh Premier League next season and the club has criticised HSBC Bank for failing to help them in their hour of need.Lilywhites' secretary Kevin Davies told a public meeting that the club’s failure to satisfy just one single aspect of the all-important domestic licence’s financial criteria proved crucial. "There are six aspects to the domestic licence – sporting, infrastructure, legal, personnel/administation, code of practice and financial," Davies told the Daily Post. "We sailed through the first five, but when it came to financial a change in the year end meant we had to present 17 months of accounts and that was always going to be difficult time-wise." Rhyl’s inability to do so meant they were not granted a domestic licence at the first time of asking in April, but Davies stressed that when it came to the appeal a month later, every financial demand had been met except one – an outstanding tax payment. "The world’s bank, the HSBC, didn’t help us at all by withdrawing our overdraft facility," said Davies. "Unlike the Liverpools and Uniteds of this world, today Rhyl FC does not have an overdraft." The secretary further explained after the meeting: "What we had to guarantee to the FAW was by March 31 the tax bill would be paid or that we had entered into an arrangement with the Inland Revenue. "We made the point that because of all the changes (at the club) we weren’t able to do that and on that one specific area the FAW were quite within their rights to demote us – but it was one criteria. "The disappointing part from the club’s point of view was the FAW were aware of the problem and that we were still talking to the Inland Revenue. "We’re disappointed the FAW didn’t allow us that leeway knowing what we were going through, but in fairness to them they have to be even-handed." Rhyl also say that there is no immediate prospect of returning to play in the English pyramid system. While many fans have called for the club to quit Welsh football, chairman Paul Higginson believes there are bigger priorities facing the Belle Vue outfit. "There are bigger issues than this concerning the stability of the club to address first," said Higginson, who informed Friday’s public meeting that Rhyl would need approval from the Welsh FA to join the English system. The chairman added there was an agreement between the FAW and English FA that no permission would be given to clubs in either system to swap. |