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£800,000 tax debt likely to topple Halifax over into oblivion
HALIFAX TOWN are on the verge of folding after it was revealed that the club's debt to the taxman was much larger than first feared.
A reconvened creditors' meeting was yesterday told the Shaymen, whose debts are in the region of 2m, owe the Inland Revenue more than 800,000.
This figure was over a third more than first estimated, making any attempts to get a Company Voluntary Arrangement passed impossible due to the taxman routinely voting against all football CVAs.
A statement has been promised from administrators Begbies Traynor early next week, but last night it seemed Halifax were set to follow Scarborough and become the second former Football League club from Yorkshire to be wound up inside 12 months.
The East Yorkshire outfit subsequently re-formed as Scarborough Athletic and finished the 2007-08 season in fifth place in the Northern Counties East Division One.
If Halifax do go under, it will be a sad end to almost a century of history for a club who just two years ago were within 10 minutes of winning a return to the Football League.
Chris Wilder's side led 2-1 in the Conference play-off final at the Walkers Stadium only for Hereford United to equalise to take the game into extra time before going on to win 3-2. Just two weeks ago, Hereford won promotion from League Two.
Halifax's fate was sealed at yesterday's meeting when shock new figures revealed that the Inland Revenue's share of the 2m debt actually stood at 814,000. This scuppered any hopes of getting the requisite 75 per cent of creditors to pass the Company Voluntary Arrangement.
The Shaymen's likely demise means Altrincham could, for the third season running, win a reprieve despite finishing in the relegation zone.
In 2006-07, they finished 21st but stayed up due to Boston United being relegated two divisions from the Football League due to financial problems.
Twelve months earlier, Altrincham finished bottom but still survived due to Canvey Island pulling out of the league and Scarborough being expelled at the Conference annual meeting for breaching league rules.
Halifax were formed in 1911 and joined the Football League 10 years later where they were original members of Third Division (North). The club's successes were few and far between with their solitary promotion success coming in 1968-69 when the Shaymen finished second in the Fourth Division.
Five seasons were then spent in the third tier before relegation started a decline that would see Halifax slip out of the League in 1993. They did return under George Mulhall five years later but, this time, the stint would last just four seasons before being relegated back to the Conference in 2002.
This season, Wilder's side finished one place above the relegation zone despite being docked 10 points for going into administration in March.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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