Warner fails to pay taxes
Austin Jack Warner, the once powerful football figure who boasted of having deep pockets before his entry into politics, has been operating outside this country’s tax laws with impunity for more than a decade in what tax experts say is a deliberate scheme to evade the payment of personal and corporate taxes.
And, as continuing Sunday Express investigations have found, he failed to disclose tens of millions of dollars in cash gifts received from miscellaneous sources and beneficial interests held in no less than 15 business entities as required by the Integrity in Public Life Act (IPLA) 2000. (See Page 20)
Warner, who has been the subject of national and international investigations into allegations of financial fraud, has failed to file corporation tax returns for all of his registrable interests disclosed in his statements of return made to the Integrity Commission (IC), the State watchdog agency tasked with keeping public officials honest.
The stockpile of evidence, collected in an ongoing Sunday Express investigation, reveal that the former government minister, Member of Parliament for Chaguanas West, interim political leader of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) and the man who is offering himself as a prospective prime minister of this country, failed to file corporation tax returns for any of his many business interests in more than a decade and in one or two instances—seven years.
Off the Grid
In the case of three of his business interests—Eastern Agricultural Resorts Ltd, JAW Holdings Ltd and JAW Ltd—there is no record of any of these companies even being registered with the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR), according to persons with knowledge of the situation. Warner, who served at times as this country’s acting prime minister and is the listed owner of a substantial business empire which includes the US$26 million Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence, also failed to file any personal income tax returns for the last three years.
His last return filed in 2009 reported a net income of TT$651,893 with consultancy fees from the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) of US$75,000 or TT$472,500. Total emolument income, including pension, was said to be $179,393. His tax return, however, failed to reflect honoraria payments made by football’s ruling body for North and Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf) of which he was president until a 2011 cash-for-votes corruption scandal put an end to his world football administrator career.
Concacaf insiders report that Warner was provided with an American Express card with a US$10,000 a year credit limit, attendance fees of US$10,000 per board meeting (this figure was increased to US$15,000 in 2010), a per diem allowance of US$175 and hotel and air travel expenses whenever he had to go abroad on Concacaf’s business. The board of the region’s governing football body met twice, sometimes three times a year.
Warner also failed to disclose the honoraria payments he received from Concacaf to the IC in direct breach of the IPLA legislation. In a December 9, 2011 response to an IC request for additional information relating to his statement of registrable interests, he made clear that he was “not employed by Concacaf” and had been provided only with a vehicle from the football body.
Tax Evasion
He also reported not being in receipt of any employment or dividend income from 11 of the 12 business entities he disclosed an interest in to the IC. The list of Warner’s 11 comprise: Sportel Ltd, Multi Stores Ltd, Eastern Agricultural Resorts Ltd, Jamad Maintenance Services Ltd, Reenalen Ltd, JAW Ltd, Renraw Ltd, Kantac Ltd, JAW Holdings Ltd, Joe Public Ltd and H&Z Ltd.
In correspondence dated February 7 this year, his long-time pal and accountant-in-chief Kenny Rampersad informed the IC that Warner held investments in the Cayman Island company, J&D International (which derived tens of millions of US dollars from Warner’s controversial acquisition of World Cup broadcasting rights for the region), and CCAM Ltd.
As reported in an earlier series published in this newspaper, Warner bought the TV rights for several World Cup editions for a mere US$1 in a backroom deal in Zurich. Publicly, the deal was sold as a rescue effort to save the financially-stricken Warner-created and controlled CFU but privately, the lucrative TV rights were diverted to Warner’s offshore company.
CCAM is one of three partners behind a trading entity called the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence (CoE), the disputed asset which was listed on the books of Concacaf for years by Rampersad and which Warner claimed was a gift from FIFA. CCAM has failed to file corporate tax returns for more than a decade or pay any taxes, including VAT…READ MORE.