KING OPENS UP ON EARTH-SHATTERING £500K TAX NIGHTMARE.

MERVYN KING has opened up on the “earth-shattering” moment he was declared bankrupt after racking up a huge tax bill.

‘The King’ owed more than £500,000 to HM Revenue and Customs after failing to pay tax on his career winnings. 

The Norfolk thrower mistakenly believed prize money was tax-free and only realised the seriousness of the situation years later.

World No.122 King revealed the problem first came to light after a warning from ten-time world champion Trina Gulliver. 

He told Tungsten Tales: “Earth-shattering really, to be fair, but that was my choice. 

“Very early in my career I was under the impression what you had won was earnings, not winnings. 

“Now winnings you don’t pay tax on. That’s the way it was — £500 here, £1,000 there during the early part of the years. 

“It wasn’t actually until I got to Lakeside and heard the words from Trina Gulliver: ‘I hope you are paying your money and paying your tax’. 

“I went away and looked at it. Part of my fault was that I didn’t look into it, which I should have done. 

“Not understanding or not realising that is what I had to do is why I didn’t check into it. 

“I looked into it and the amount I owed — I knew there was no way I could afford that sort of money.” 

The situation worsened as the years passed and King admitted he buried his head in the sand instead of confronting the problem.

He added: “If this keeps going the way it is going, I will be able to sort this out down the line because it seems to be rolling now — my first world championship. 

“I was starting to win bigger sums of money. Further down the line I hadn’t, which is my fault and nobody else’s. 

“Okay, I didn’t have any guidance or anyone out there that says you have to do this. 

“It was ignorance on my part and I hold my hands up to it. But it is also scary. 

“I owe HMRC this amount of money. How the hell am I going to pay this? What do I do? 

“In the end it was that amount of money that I just hid my head in the sand and kept playing.” 

King revealed it was during the pandemic that he finally decided to tackle the issue head-on. 

He continued: “It was lockdown that actually made me realise I have to sort this out, because I decided to go back to work as everything stopped. 

“I decided I am going to contact HMRC and get this sorted out. 

“I got in contact with a guy in Nottingham who used to work for HMRC that now works for people trying to sort their tax affairs out with HMRC. 

“He cost me a lot of money but he helped a lot. We went for full disclosure. 

“We went back 20 years and they looked at everything. 

“All account details, the lot. I looked at the final total and, unless I find a magic wand or win the lottery, there was no way that was going to get paid. 

“It’s impossible. So, they decided they were going to make me bankrupt. 

“My motorcycle was gone and all assets I had bought were gone. 

“They emptied my accounts and froze my accounts twice, which put me in a lot of trouble because I had direct debits going out which weren’t being paid. 

“I was getting recurring charges against them.” 

But King revealed he has now finally been released from bankruptcy, giving him a chance for a fresh start. 

He said: “Yesterday I got an email — as of today, 4th March, I am released from bankruptcy. 

“So great, it is over with and a fresh start. It is just making sure everything is proper now. 

“I don’t want these young players to end up in the same position I was in. 

“If this just stops one person ending like this, then that is great.” 

King earned his tour card in January and has featured at major events again after a two years out. 

The 59-year-old has had a brilliant career finishing runner-up at the Premier League and reaching the semi-final of the World Championship.   

King has picked up six Players Championship titles and won the European Darts Grand Prix.

Image by Taylor Lanning.