All over a few pints

Press, 2 August 1983, Page 34

All over a few pints

NZPA London Canada’s oversized snooker star, Bill Werbeniuk, has been left behind the eight-ball by the taxman. Big Bill, this year’s New Zealand champion and runner-up in Australia, has been told he could claim tax relief on the 3000 pints he drinks a year, the “Daily Express” reported.

He claimed he was able to prove his need for 20 pints on big match nights “on doctor’s orders” to help control a hereditary nervous disorder which promotes a tremor in his right shoulder, neck and face.

The lager, he insisted, acted as a “steadier,” and the cure was costing him £2OOO a year. Two years ago the Inland Revenue agreed to offset his drinking costs against his income, but he has not received any tax relief and has been told the taxman has had a change of heart. His agent, Robert Manns, said the taxman indicated it could set a dangerous precedent and open up the floodgates for all sorts of claims: “Bill’s not happy about it, but he will still be downing his 20 pints a night to steady his cue arm,” Mr Manns said.