Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TAX OWN GOAL HAS RUINED ME
I had a £1m home and big cars.. today I’m bankrupt and feeling suicidal Govt must go after the real bad guys who create these schemes
FOOTBALL star Dean Windass says his life has been left in tatters by the tax avoidance scandal which has embroiled hundreds of celebrities.
Becoming the first former top flight player to speak out, he said: “This has ruined people’s lives and left me waking up feeling suicidal.”
The ex-premier League striker became bankrupt after Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs argued the schemes he paid into were a tax dodge.
Dean, 49, “innocently” invested in legal partnerships, expecting a financial return years later – but ended up with a £164,000 tax bill instead.
He said: “The Government should step in before it costs people their lives.
“I used to have a million pound house and big cars – Range Rovers, Audi Q7. My life now is a million miles away.”
Dean, who played for clubs such as Hull City, Middlesbrough and Bradford City, and once earned £650,000 a year, is one of hundreds facing financial ruin.
The Mirror previously told how 589 footballers and top sports stars invested a total of £417million in a company selling the schemes – and now face huge and unexpected tax bills.
DISASTER
Dean lost his home and now lives in rented accommodation in Hull with his partner of four years Francesca Thurlow.
He says the investment he thought was a smart move became a “disaster”.
Dean added: “I thought I was doing this to secure my future. I’m not a tax dodger. I had no idea.”
The star got involved in the schemes in the early 2000s – while playing at Middlesbrough – after being put in contact with a financial adviser.
He said: “Some of the players said ‘no’ but I’m silly and saw the list of very famous names on it and said ‘yes’.
“I met him in reception at the club and he said all I had to do was sign a bit of paper and I’d get three cheques come through which you just have to reinvest.
“I was innocently investing in my future. I had no idea what it was.”
He paid in £150,000 and received cheques adding up to the same value – tax relief from the Inland Revenue.
Dean reinvested the cash, expecting a £150,000 payout 15 years later.
Instead, he was clobbered with the huge tax bill, which includes hefty late payment charges. He used up all his pension before being made bankrupt.
On his call for action, he said: “They should go after the real bad guys. The Government should look at regulation for financial advisers and those who created these schemes.
“I would never have gone into this if [I realised] I’d get punished years later.”
And he wants HMRC to be aware of the impact of unexpected tax demands.
He said: “When that brown envelope comes through the doors it’s depressing.
“The charges are horrendous too and the interest they put on it... it felt like they were coming for me.
“I spoke to a lot of footballers with
the same brown envelopes and are stressed out. Some had young families, with mortgages and were looking at losing their homes.
“They’ve told me how much they owed, some went into the millions. I felt I was quite lucky with £164,000.”
Dean retired from pro footie in 2009 and tried to kill himself in 2012 after battling depression and drink issues. He was then left feeling suicidal again due to the tax bill hell. Dean said: “Everyone knows I’ve suffered from depression and been in rehab.
“I’m scared what this is doing to me now... Every day is a challenge.”
He has received help from the Football Association with counselling, and thinks the FA should also offer financial advice to young footballers. He has two sons, Jordan, 19, and Josh, 24, who plays for Wigan. Dean said: “The one thing I’ve said to Josh is put your money into property.
“I’ve warned him about what can go wrong.” He added: “I was badly advised and never got an explanation.”
His financial woe involves investment company Ingenious. He paid into Ingenious partnerships. Dean was not approached by Ingenious and had no dealings with it. Instead, it was the third party financial adviser who suggested putting cash into the Ingenious partnerships.
Dean said he does not even know the name of the man who advised him – and has been told he is now dead.
Dean is probably best known for lifting hometown club Hull into the Premier League with a stunning volleyed winner in the 2008 play-off final.
He said: “I had a good 20 years as a professional footballer and I have no regrets on the football side, but regrets about the money.” Dean added: “The hardest thing in football is retiring. When it comes to an end the phone stops ringing. “Thank God for Hull City, who made me an ambassador and kept the wolf from the door.”
He said he had not committed a crime but ended up with the £164,000 bill and was “branded a tax dodger”.
Dean added: “I have to pay £700 a month to the tax man for three years.
“I lost my dad, then I got divorced and then this kick in the teeth.”
He said his mental health is improving every day, but added: “I thought I was taking care of my future and being sensible with my money.
“Instead it has left me on the edge.” Ingenious declined to comment.