Anxious wait to discover full extent of Mayo's tax debt

The executive committee of Mayo GAA County Board has chosen not to sign off on the board’s financial statements in time for next week’s rescheduled county convention because of uncertainty surrounding a review into its affairs by Revenue.

Admitting there is the potential for “additional liabilities” in light of Revenue’s current intervention, Mayo GAA has also confirmed it has already launched its own review into how all expenses are paid going forward, in order to ensure Revenue guidelines are complied with.

Following a meeting of the county board last Thursday night, and amid growing speculation, Mayo GAA issued a statement in which it confirmed it was ‘proactively engaged’ with Revenue, the purpose being to assess a potential tax liability across a multi-year period. This is further to Mayo GAA having already made a voluntary disclosure of €119,778 to the Revenue Commissioners last year.

The outstanding tax owed related to the years 2018 and 2019 and was specifically associated to expenses paid as part of the Cúl Camps programme, however, not only has it emerged that Revenue Commissioners subsequently sought further financial information from Mayo GAA about that same two-year period, but that they are also investigating potential tax liabilities for the five years from 2020 to 2024.

“The Revenue Commissioners’ intervention is still ongoing and while we have no certainty on how long it will take, it is hoped that the process will conclude in the coming months,” read the statement from Mayo GAA, who had originally planned to hold their annual convention last Sunday.

The postponement had initially come without any explanation but Mayo GAA has now said it will provide clubs with its financial statement in advance of the rescheduled convention on Wednesday, December 18 “without any provision for a potential liability”.

Claiming that Mayo GAA is financially in “robust shape”, the principal officers of the County Board have said it’s impossible to forecast the final potential liabilities after Revenue has completed its work, adding that their own auditors are in agreement with the approach to not sign the financial statements of the past 12 months.

“Mayo GAA is complying fully with the Revenue Commissioners’ ongoing audit process, and we are committed to proactively ensuring all potential tax liabilities arising from past expenses payments are fully settled,” insists Mayo GAA chairman Seamus Tuohy who believes every other county board in the country could be impacted by the issues that have been raised by Revenue.

“I would urge the wider GAA community to proactively engage on these issues and ensure all county boards have clear guidelines going forward around the tax treatment of all expenses that are incurred in the running of our association.” 

Why it has taken Revenue to identify Mayo GAA’s potential tax liabilities is something club delegates may seek clarity on when they attend the rescheduled 2024 county convention in the Great National Hotel, Ballina, on Wednesday week.