John Barnes failed to pay £190,000 in tax

John Barnes signed a disqualification undertaking prohibiting him from serving as a director of the company for the next three and a half years. Photo: Liverpool. FC/Andrew Powell

John Barnes, the former England and Liverpool midfielder, was removed as a director after his company failed to pay tens of thousands of pounds in tax.

An Insolvency Service investigation found that John Barnes Media Limited failed to pay more than £190,000 in corporation tax and VAT between 2018 and 2020.

Barnes, who escaped bankruptcy last year after paying more than £200,000 in personal tax, has signed a disqualification undertaking barring him from being a director of the company for the next three-and-a-half years.

< p>Mike Smith, chief investigator The Insolvency Service, said: “The refusal of individuals and businesses to pay the taxes they are required to pay is depriving the government of the funding it needs to provide vital public services and investment in areas such as schools, hospitals and roads.

“John Barnes had a legal duty to ensure his company paid the correct amount of corporation tax and VAT. Instead, she paid no tax at all between November 2018 and October 2020, despite making profits of more than £400,000.

“This disqualification should act as a deterrent to other directors , which if you don't pay your taxes while sending your money elsewhere, you risk getting banned.»

Barnes, who earned 79 caps for England over a nearly two-decade playing career, founded John Barnes Media Limited in September 2012.

< p>The company, of which he was the sole director, said it offered media representation services information. From November 2018 to October 2020, its turnover was £441,798.

The Insolvency Service said that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) paid tax for this period, despite the company filing returns showing what VAT payments should have been.

The investigation found that John Barnes Media failed to pay £78,839 of corporate tax in the period from August 2018 to January. The company ceased trading in 2020 and also failed to pay £115,272 in VAT between February 2019 and 2020.

The Insolvency Service's investigation into Barnes' conduct as a director began in September 2023 after his company went into liquidation and at a time when he was also facing a bankruptcy filing over a £238,000 tax bill.

Barrister Nathan Webb, who represented the former footballer at a hearing that month into Barnes' personal tax matters, told the judge his client «simply» needed time to pay.

He said that Barnes worked for Liverpool Football Club «on a salary of pounds sterling». 200,000″ and was «very healthy and able to pay.»

Two months later the bankruptcy application was dismissed after HMRC confirmed the debt had been paid and a settlement had been reached.

p>Recent Over the years, Barnes has become a leading — and sometimes controversial — commentator on racism in football and society in general.

In November 2022, Liverpool said in a statement that Barnes had been appointed as an «ambassador of the club » – i.e. a role that «sees him representing the Reds at home and abroad.»

He has been approached for comment.