Salary cap shenanigans

Fairfax is running a story that an Australian Super rugby club is avoiding the ARU salary cap by paying one player's money to a local rugby club as 'ground hire'. The club then pays the player, who then does not have to pay tax. This is all of course rumour and innuendo at this stage but sounds very dodgy indeed (Melbourne Storm anyone?).

Here is a link to the article: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...e-the-sack-if-rort-proved-20120715-224bt.html

Does anyone have any thoughts on which Super rugby club it might be?

The ARU have really bungled the salary cap issue. As far as I know, they still haven't sorted out the issue of how much the cap will be in 2013 and beyond, which is just mind boggling when you consider you have players and clubs negotiating contracts during the season.

Straight from the Harvard Business School best selling "How To Let Infighting And Ego Ruin Your Organization And Take Everyone Down With You".

Makes you wonder who it is. It surely couldn't be the Brumbies as they have a lot of players who would be relatively cheap. I don't think it would be the Rebels because of salary cap conditions for their marquee players. So it is probably the Force, Tahs or Reds. I doubt it would be the Force because few of their players have attachments to local clubs and local clubs definitely don't have the kind of money to discretely pull something like this off.

Before anyone notices that Harold Mitchell is stepping away and connecting some dots, this was announced long before this issue came to light. As mentioned in the Rebels 2013 thread.

Judging by everything else that has gone wrong this season, I would be surprised if this doesn't relate to the Waratahs.

The only thing that would make me doubt that is I don't have enough faith in the organisation to engineer something like this.

That said, they've been found out so they clearly didn't do it very well.

I'll just wait til 2019 when the Tahs release their 2012 Annual Report.
Then I'll be really fucked off that not only were they fucking hopeless but they were cheats as well.

If we see a line item on the P&L called Hire of Suit Models that will be Elsom and Vickerman's salaries.

This is what the Melbourne Storm did. They put the extra salary cap expenses under 'Marquee Hire' (as in hire of a hospitality tent). They actually received the tent free of charge when they hired Olympic Park.

How stupid would a club be to copy this model?

little bit different, but similar concept..

The other issue with this is that:

That could go pear shaped for the player

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...rort-proved-20120715-224bt.html#ixzz219rTqJrZ

It could, if income is undeclared.

Given the last financial year only ran out a few weeks ago, it would seem more likely that the 2011 season of Super Rugby would be in the gun-sights more so than this current 2012 season.

Unless a return was put in very promptly, or quarterly tax payments are being made.

I'm guessing it's not the Force. With the calibre of our squad, there is probably a bit left in the kitty each year.

Rebels at Visy (Princes) Park
Brumbies at Griffith Oval
Force don't train

I see what you did there p.Tah

However, they train at Rugby WA's facility.

I wouldn't worry too much about tracking which team trains at which club - if a team is prepared to make sham payments for the purpose of beating a salary cap, or worse defrauding the taxpayer, they are capable of fudging a few trainings.

Who do you think is involved, Dam0?

Any thoughts mate?

I have some law suit-provoking rampant speculation that I made up.

Presumably it must be a team subject to the salary cap and with demanding stars that would put it close to or over salary cap. It sounds like it could really only be out of 2 teams, and the stars from one of those teams would be unlikely to be bargaining too strongly given recent events.