Jamie Carragher HMRC bankruptcy petition explained despite estimated £16m net worth
HRMC has issued a petition seeking to have Jamie Carragher declared bankrupt over an unpaid tax bill, but that doesn't actually mean he's short of cash.
As first reported by City AM, a petition was filed at the High Court in London on August 26 by solicitors representing HMRC against James Lee Duncan Carragher.
However, representatives of the former Liverpool and England footballer have quickly moved to stress the matter will be dealt with quickly on August 27.
Carragher enjoyed a 17-year football career at the highest level and is now one of the game's most recognisable pundits.
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As well as being a Sky Sports mainstay alongside Gary Neville, he's also a star with Thierry Henry on CBS' Champions League coverage in the US, a newspaper columnist and a regular on the highly popular Stick to Football podcast.
With multiple companies outside of football keeping him busy as well, it's no surprise that Carragher is a multi-millionaire.
Celebrity Net Worth estimates the 48-year-old's net worth to be at $21million, which exchanges to about £15.4million.
So if he's worth that much, how could he possibly have a bankruptcy petition made against him?
Bankruptcy petition explained
The government's official website explains that in order to make someone bankrupt, you must be owed at least £5,000 or a share of debts that total at least £5,000.
In order to prove it, you must either issue a statutory demand, a request for payment, to the debtor and confirm you have done so by filing in a certificate of service form.
Or you can get a sheriff or bailiff statement showing you have got a court judgement for the money or that a sheriff or bailiff couldn't recover enough assets to cover the debt.
As a result, a person, or HRMC, does not need to prove a person literally doesn't have any money in their bank account to have them declared as bankrupt, just that they are owed a minimum of £5,000.
HMRC's own guidance says bankruptcy proceedings do not necessarily mean a taxpayer is insolvent.
The petition process for bankruptcy can be easily stopped, just as soon as the relevant debt has been paid off, as Carragher's reps have said will soon be the case.
Carragher's representatives have responded to the news
A spokesperson for Carragher told the Liverpool Echo: “This is a private tax matter that should have been resolved sooner, and the appropriate steps are being taken today to settle it.
"It is understood that the matter will not proceed any further, and will be resolved imminently.”
A spokesperson for HRMC said the department, which is responsible for collecting taxes in the UK, did not comment on individual cases.
A spokesperson did add to LADbible: “We take a supportive approach to dealing with customers who have tax debts and do everything we can to help those who engage with us to get out of debt, such as offering instalment plans.
“We only petition for bankruptcy as a last resort.”
Topics: UK News, Jamie Carragher
Daniel Murphy