TITANS BUYER’S TAX STU
NRL powerbrokers to grill pirate-loving, would-be club owner Stuart McAuliffe over tax office stoush
THE battle for the Titans’ NRL licence has taken a twist following revelations prospective owner Stuart McAuliffe was sued by the Australian Taxation Office for more than $670,000.
D-Day has arrived in the Gold Coast ownership saga, with the rival McAuliffe and Frizelle-Kelly consortiums to go head-to-head today in final submissions to NRL bosses.
Mr McAuliffe, a fund manager who names his companies after famous pirates, last night said he had settled the first debt and owes about $97,000 to the ATO.
THE battle for the Gold Coast Titans NRL licence has taken a dramatic twist following explosive revelations prospective owner Stuart McAuliffe was sued by the Australian Taxation Office for more than $670,000.
D-Day has arrived in the Gold Coast ownership saga, with the rival McAuliffe and Frizelle-Kelly consortiums to go head-to-head today in final submissions to NRL bosses at Rugby League Central in Sydney.
McAuliffe, a Brisbane fund manager who names his companies after famous pirates, will table the richest privatisation bid in NRL history – a $25 million plan to take over the Titans.
But McAuliffe is facing a grilling from NRL powerbrokers over his financial affairs as it emerged the ATO has launched legal action against the 47-year-old twice in the past 18 months.
The latest lawsuit for $176,000 was lodged in Brisbane’s District Court on August 28 after an initial claim of $672,000 last year.
McAuliffe last night said he had settled the first debt and will front NRL bosses today owing an estimated $97,000 to the ATO.
“I’ve paid back the first amount of $672,000 in full,” McAuliffe said.
“With the second one, I’ve paid back $80,000, so we are now disputing the remaining amount, which is around $97,000.
“Given the scale of my companies, it’s a small amount. From my point of view, this is a fairly minor dispute. I’m comfortable with my position.”
The tax saga comes four months after a second government authority – the Australian Securities and Investments Commission – took aim at investment company Henry Morgan, where McAuliffe is managing director.
The watchdog suggested the company had given a “misleading” statement to shareholders by saying one of the financial services firms it invested in had a turnover of “$96 million” when others claimed the figure was $10.75 million.
Shares in Henry Morgan have been suspended since June 8 this year at $1.99 while an independent expert reviews the value of some assets.
McAuliffe dismissed concerns over ASIC’s comments and insists he would not be a risk for the NRL or the Titans, saying his stable of public
FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, THIS IS A FAIRLY MINOR DISPUTE. I’M COMFORTABLE WITH MY POSITION.” STUART McAULIFFE
companies were worth about $150 million.
“We never had a dispute with ASIC, it has been completely cleared up,” said McAuliffe, whose other company, John Bridgeman, is formally bidding for the Titans licence.
“We’ve just had audited results come out for Henry Morgan last week and the auditors agreed with our valuation (of $96 million).
“I have 11 public companies, some listed, some unlisted, so I said to the NRL if you want to do ‘DD’ (due diligence) on me, the best thing is talk to the auditor, who is an independent third party.
“It’s my understanding the NRL did that.”
An NRL spokesman said last night the governing body is conducting detailed checks on bidders to ensure they would be appropriate to own the club.
The sale of the Titans is expected to be announced within the week, with McAuliffe’s rival, former club co-owner Darryl Kelly, vowing to fight hard to reclaim the Gold Coast licence.
“I believe our proposal is sustainable, good for the community and good for the Titans,” said Kelly, who lost $5 million during his first foray into the Titans in 2012 and is bidding with former Titans chairwoman Rebecca Frizelle.
“We hope the NRL com- missioners trust us as they have for the last three years or so to continue to run the club and progress it as we have done.
“It will continue to lose money for a while until we develop an alternate income stream, which will take us a little while. We will have to carry those losses.”
McAuliffe, who has been working on his bid for two years, dismissed suggestions the Titans, who have lost $12 million in the past four seasons, cannot be salvaged in the region.
“I believe the Titans can deliver annual profits of around $2-3 million,” he said.
“Most of the things I have done financially, people have said it was the dumbest idea in the world, but quite frequently I am right.
“I go in when conditions are adverse and in this case conditions are very adverse at the Titans.
“But by the same token it’s at rock bottom, so the Titans are on the way up and I want to help the club succeed.
“If I miss this opportunity, who knows how long it will take to get another NRL licence.”
The ATO sued McAuliffe in May 2016 in Brisbane’s District Court for $672,214.44.
The alleged debt included almost $327,000 in unpaid income tax and interest between 2008 and 2014, according to court documents.
The remainder related to taxes with business activity statements and penalties.
McAuliffe did not file defence in the matter.
The taxman was back in August this year with a fresh case against McAuliffe in the same court.
The amount it alleged was owed was $176,927.07, and this included some debts from the original lawsuit.
The lawsuit indicated large sums of the earlier debt had been repaid.
McAuliffe has also not filed a defence in this matter.