Former Liverpool star John Barnes has been banned as a company director for three-and-a-half years after his media firm failed to pay £190,000 in VAT and corporation tax.
The Insolvency Service’s investigation found that John Barnes Media Limited, which went into liquidation in 2023, failed to pay £78,839 in corporation tax between August 2018 and January 2020 and £115,272 in VAT between February 2019 and 2020, despite having a turnover of £441,798 during that period.
Barnes, who was capped 79 times by England and also played for Watford and Newcastle, formed John Barnes Media Limited in September 2012 and was the company’s sole director. He currently works as an ambassador for Liverpool, earning £200,000 per week.
The ban, which started on Wednesday 24 April, prevents Barnes from being involved in the promotion, formation, or management of a company without the permission of the court.
Mike Smith, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Individuals and businesses not paying the tax they should deprives the government of the funding it needs to provide vital public services and investment in areas such as schools, hospitals, and roads. John Barnes had a legal duty to ensure his company paid the correct amount of corporation tax and VAT. Instead, it paid no tax whatsoever between November 2018 and October 2020, despite receiving earnings of well over £400,000. This disqualification should serve as a deterrent to other directors that if you do not pay your taxes while directing money elsewhere, you are at risk of being banned.”
Barnes has been the subject of six different bankruptcy petitions dating back to 2010. In 2009, he told the Telegraph: “I don’t like dealing with taxes, of course. I just hate not having enough money. Apart from that, I don’t like dealing with bills and never have done. I let my wife Andrea deal with them. I don’t even like opening them.”
Last year, a bankruptcy petition lodged by HMRC against Barnes was dismissed. Barrister Nathan Webb, representing Barnes, told the court at a hearing in September that his client was employed by Liverpool Football Club “on a salary of £200,000” and was “very well and able to pay” the money owed.
