Emile Heskey, a Leicester City striker, has been sentenced to pay almost £200,000 in charges to HMRC following a lengthy legal struggle over an unpaid £1.6 million tax bill.
On Tuesday (June 4), a judge ordered that Heskey, who is presently the head of football development at Leicester City Women, must pay £194,794.42 in legal expenses after HMRC filed action against the former Foxes and England star. Heskey was scheduled to stand trial at the High Court in November 2019, but this was cancelled after he confessed accountability for the debt in the long-running dispute, which dates back to 2005.
Yesterday, special costs judge Mark Whelan ruled that the fine was “reasonable and proportionate” in what had been a “complex” case. Heskey received 15 penalty notices dating back to 2005. He was not present at the hearing and was unrepresented. Francis Kendall, Director and costs lawyer at Kain Knight, told TheBusinessDesk.com that given the amount of tax at stake, the fees were judged ‘proportionate’. “In my experience, the costs charged by HMRC are nearly impossible to fight. The agency employs an army of in-house lawyers who charge hourly rates that are significantly lower than the market rate or the standard figures authorized on assessment. Counsel also works on lower fees for HMRC.
“It is therefore possible that the legal cost, if done on the open market, could have been much more than the amount recovered. Mr Heskey’s own costs would surely make a fascinating comparison.” Heskey’s £200,000 bill does not include interest, so he could wind up paying much more.
