The Tinkler thread

jamesgould

jamesgould

Danny 'Bedsy' Buderus
Staff member
Admin
Bit of a new thread for you all here ... for the growing concerns about Tinkler to be posted in. Robbie Tew has come out all guns a-blazing, now.

Ex-Knights chief and Tinkler at loggerheads over tax bill
Donna Page October 11, 2012

A BITTER war of words has erupted between former Newcastle chairman Rob Tew and Nathan Tinkler's Hunter Sports Group over an unpaid $350,000 tax bill.

Tew broke his silence yesterday, describing the situation as ''another example of HSG not paying their debts''. Tinkler's group blamed the debt on the previous Knights administration's ''poor accounting''.

It is understood the debt was uncovered by the Australian Taxation Office during an audit of the Knights Members Club, and comes at a time of growing uncertainty about Tinkler's financial position.

The Newcastle Herald reported last month that Knights suppliers, including medical providers, had been forced to employ debt collectors to chase outstanding bills.

A spokesman for HSG said yesterday all Knights Members Club debts, totalling more than $6 million, were paid at the time of acquisition, or August 5, last year.

''This new debt has come to light due to poor accounting from the previous Knights administration and came to light following a recent audit of the members club,'' he said.

''Now that HSG is aware of this new debt, this will be extinguished in the normal course of business.''

But Tew, who is credited with ensuring the Knights' future by demanding a host of non-negotiable terms and conditions as part of the takeover, including the $20 million bank guarantee, described the criticism as ''nonsense''.

He said the debt was incurred because Tinkler failed to meet the initial agreed handover deadline on June 30 last year, forcing the Knights Members Club to trade into the following financial year.

Tinkler was supposed to have provided a $20 million bank guarantee and settled all the club's outstanding liabilities by the end of the financial year but requested an extension and settled the takeover bid on August 5.

''As a consequence of normal trading, due to the delay in settling by HSG, we traded beyond June 30 and incurred normal trading expenses and revenues that attracted GST,'' Tew said. ''GST is acquitted or remitted quarterly in arrears, so it was not due to be reported until the end of September and was payable in December … What I won't have is, 'This is a mistake by the previous board,' or that it was unforseen. That is nonsense, and it is clearly the responsibility of HSG.''

Knights members club chairman Peter Corcoran confirmed that under the terms of the privatisation deal, the tax debt had to be paid by HSG.

''We forwarded on the notice to HSG, and as far as I know it is being taken care of,'' he said.

Tew said he spoke with Corcoran on Monday after hearing about the tax bill, and Corcoran assured him all invoices, including tax bills, were forwarded to HSG for payment when they were received.

From: http://m.smh.com.au/rugby-league/le...loggerheads-over-tax-bill-20121010-27dk2.html
 
I used to admire Tinkler mainly for the wrong reasons. He was a fat heap(much like myself), He was a multi(what I'd love to be) and He loved the Knights so much He purchased them(which I would have done too). Nowadays He's lost weight as well as a personality. He's losing money and don't pay plus sh1tting on people seems ok by him. Perhaps the song from Snow White and 7 Dwarfs is appropriate....I owe, I owe it's off to borrow I go.
 
I don't care what happens with Tinklers companies as even if he lost everything we would still be better off than we were before he took over , but if someone came to me with a $35,000 bill 1 year after i bought the place and especially after i was told the original debt was $1.9 million and it turned out to be over $6 million i would be ****ed off too....
No matter what happens we would not have Bennett, Smith , Scott , Boyd, Snowden, Tahu, Gagai, Mason or Buderus without Tinkler and we get to buy the club back for a $1 and keep the money in the bank imo either way its a no lose situation .
 
Yeah, it's a worry how we would continue if Tinkler were to go, though. Especially if he leaves a load of unpaid bills.

We would be spending more than we ever did in the pre-Tinkler days, now. Would we be able to continue paying Bennett's contract? I don't know how much our sponsorship came to this year, but seeing as Tinkler is essentially our major sponsor, I'd say he's topping up a large amount of that $10 million annual minimum.
 
I'm not saying we aren't in a better position(financially and not on the ladder)I'm saying I used to like Tinkler and now I think he's an arrogant pig.
 
He's definitely lost his mojo this year.

I wonder how much of a gambling streak he's got ... I suppose you need it to an extent to get to where he has so quickly ... but when you own the amount of stuff he does and employ the amount of people he does, it's probably time to take stock and tread a bit more conservatively. It's not just his own future he's impacting now.
 
Tinkler hasn't changed at all.
His form in the racing industry and his form in business has always been that he is a ruthless operator and someone who won't pay bills till he has been dragged through court and has no other option.
 
I'm not saying it's a problem for any of us. I'm saying when he was starting out he could get away with it. Now his profile is big and reputation matters. If people refuse to do work for any of his companies because they don't think they'll get paid for it, then that becomes an issue. We've already seen the Knights blacklisted from some Doctors, according to some reports.
 
jamesgould said:
I'm not saying it's a problem for any of us. I'm saying when he was starting out he could get away with it. Now his profile is big and reputation matters. If people refuse to do work for any of his companies because they don't think they'll get paid for it, then that becomes an issue. We've already seen the Knights blacklisted from some Doctors, according to some reports.
Click to expand...
They'll just have to pay up front for some things.
 
jamesgould said:
Yeah, it's a worry how we would continue if Tinkler were to go, though. Especially if he leaves a load of unpaid bills.

We would be spending more than we ever did in the pre-Tinkler days, now. Would we be able to continue paying Bennett's contract? I don't know how much our sponsorship came to this year, but seeing as Tinkler is essentially our major sponsor, I'd say he's topping up a large amount of that $10 million annual minimum.
Click to expand...

Im no accountant so i don't really know , but would'nt all the companies that sponsor us claim it back on tax including tinkerbells companies .
 
Ethan said:
Im no accountant so i don't really know , but would'nt all the companies that sponsor us claim it back on tax including tinkerbells companies .
Click to expand...

I don't know how tax works in Aus, but the Knights would have to be a charity for that to work in NZ, and we are no charity!
 
Ethan said:
Im not sure but i think they can claim it back for advertisment....
Click to expand...

I think you can only claim it on GST. I'm not sure about advertising specifically, but most expenses result in GST receivables for the company.

So that's only 10% of the transaction. It's be mayhem if they could claim it all! Definitely can't claim the whole thing.
 
You can post the article, you know. :)

Statement for Members and Supporters
Thursday 11 October 2012 5:03 PM
00049465-image.jpg

The Hunter Sports Group (HSG), the Newcastle Knights and the Newcastle Jets have refrained from retaliating to the personal attacks being driven by a negative local press campaign over the past 12 months.

The Clubs understand Members and supporters would rather hear about their team doing well on the park, a new player joining the Club, a coach or former player being inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, than any of the politics.

Due to this ongoing campaign and following Thursday's comments from former Knights Chairman Rob Tew, the matter needs to be addressed.

A story in today's Newcastle Herald gives the impression that a new tax debt has not been met by the HSG. This is completely wrong.

To publish this story without the facts is another example of the agenda driven by the Newcastle Herald against the HSG and their pessimistic view in general.

The Knights Chief Financial Officer for the past ten years confirmed the new tax debt was incurred during Mr. Tew’s tenure and overseen by previous senior management and the Board at the time of acquisition. The liability was not dealt with during this period by the Board due to ongoing cash flow problems.

The HSG paid all reported debts deemed payable by the old administration and Board at the time of acquisition; this was in excess of $6 million, which included unpaid tax of approximately $1.2 million. This is after advising HSG that the debt was in the vicinity of $3.5 million.

Mr. Tew’s regime left the Club in a dire financial state; he corresponded with the HSG to prepay funds in advance of the takeover deal to avoid the Knights being placed into administration. This was due to mounting debt and a huge taxation bill that the Board couldn't meet and would have been personally liable for.

The new debt that is referred to in today’s paper results from accounting adjustments of over $3 million dating back to May 2008.

This new $365,386 debt was recently brought to the attention of the HSG as payable after the 2011 year-end audit of the Members Club and will be paid in the normal course of business.

The HSG has placed all aspects of this issue today in the hands of its legal advisers and further action is anticipated.

“We are frustrated by the ongoing campaign to destabilise the Knights and Jets, which is to the detriment of every Novocastrian,” Group CEO Troy Palmer said.

“Nathan has made a considerable investment to ensure stable Knights and Jets football clubs.

“It appears some people can’t let go of the tall poppy syndrome or on-going political battles which almost destroyed the Knights on several occasions and they continue to promote any negativity they can about Nathan, be it fact or fiction.

“We have to all remember this is a man that has not only saved the Knights and Jets, but brought David Beckham, Darren Lockyer’s last Test match and Netball Tests to Newcastle, made a significant contribution to Surfest and a host of other benevolent gestures and never asked for a thank you.

“I have no doubt every Knights fan is excited that Nathan brought Wayne Bennett to the Knights and that we have an outstanding team and structure heading into season 2013.

“While the fact that Nathan was able to entice former England international Emile Heskey to join the Jets shows his commitment to both teams.”

The Knights have prospered commercially under the new management structure and have broken almost every previous key performance indictor against the past administration. In fact, both clubs are now amongst the benchmark clubs in the NRL and A-League.

“The Club is in a new and exciting era and it is time to focus on that,” Knights Chairman Paul Harragon said.

“The Knights have never been better positioned as a Football Club and that is solely thanks to Nathan.

“I am positive I can speak on behalf of all Members and supporters in saying we will never forget Nathan’s contribution to this Club and town.”

Because on this negative campaign driven by the Newcastle Herald, the Clubs have stopped their journalists from attending Knights and media opportunities.

Both clubs will continue to work with all other local and national media outlets and provide team information on the Club websites and social networks.

The Knights and Jets are open to fair and balanced criticism of their performance both on and off the field.

“We hope this provides clarity on recent reporting and that Members and supporters remain comfortable that Nathan has an ongoing commitment to ensure the best possible outcomes for both the Knights and Jets,” Palmer added.

“One thing is for certain, we will not let negativity nor the Newcastle Herald’s agenda drive us out of town or prevent us from running the Clubs for our community.”

From: http://www.newcastleknights.com.au/news-display/Statement-for-Members-and-Supporters/65053
 
Sad news, the Herald is the new Telegraph. :(

HSG had to do it, the Herald were just ripping into the Knights management even if they weren't 'false' accusations. It was far too frequent. It is the local newspaper, they shouldn't be the enemy!
 
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