After failing to appear before the court to pay the tax bill or declare he did not have the means to pay, a former footballer and pundit has been issued a bankruptcy order
A £36,424 tax debt that cannot be paid by former England, West Ham and Manchester City footballer, Trevor Sinclair, 51, has forced the sports pundit into bankruptcy.
On Thursday 12 June, Sinclair was made bankrupt after a High Court judge ruled he did not have the money to pay the debt. Sinclair did not turn up to the hearing in central London after previously being given extra time by HMRC to come up with the money in April of this year.
Judge Wilkinson said at the April hearing: ‘Mr Sinclair has to wake up to the fact that there’s no more head in the sand because this is serious.’
The debt had built up in the 2021-22 tax year through Sinclair’s punditry work for various broadcasters including the BBC and TalkSport over the years.
The total tax debt was £36,424, including two separate payments of more than £13,000 were owed to HMRC for the broadcasting work as well as National Insurance and penalty payments.
Judge Wilkinson said yesterday: ‘The last hearing was adjourned in order for proposals to be put forward by Mr Sinclair, but we have received no contact from him since then and nor have any proposals been put forward.’
The Judge made a bankruptcy order against Sinclair.
Sinclair has been an LLP member of Inside Track 2 LLP since 2004 along with many other former footballers and broadcasters. Inside Track 2 is linked with the Ingenious Film Partners 2 LLP that appeared at the Court of Appeal in 2022.