The enormity of the forthcoming SPL Commission report could easily be lost in the ocean of headlines which has engulfed this matter in recent years. I’ve noted below more information from the recent First Tier Tribunal report on Rangers tax case, in an attempt to clarify some of the key issues.
From The Evidence:
“The Appellants’ first witness was Mr Red, a senior member of the group’s tax function. He is a Chartered Tax Advisor and qualified as a tax inspector previously to joining the Appellants.”
“Mr Red insisted in his evidence that the Trust was not a means of “tax avoidance””.
“It was noted in an internal memo prepared by Mr Red dated 8 September 2005 to the Board of MIH that he had described the Trust as a form of “tax avoidance scheme””.
Dissenting opinion from Ms Poon:
The Nature of the Side-letters
“Another strand of evidence being tested was the nature and purpose of the side-letters. Asked about the secrecy surrounding the side-letters, referring to the fact that they were not lodged with the SFA, nor disclosed in the long period of HMRC’s enquiry, Mr Red’s reply was: ‘I still say there is nothing secret about them. We have nothing to hide in these side letters’.
“It is not accepted that there had been no deliberate concealment of the side-letters, in view of how the first side-letter only came to light through the seizure of Mr Berwick’s file nearly four years into the enquiry.
“It is not accepted that the nondisclosure of the side-letters arose from a ‘credible’ view that Mr Red considered the side-letters irrelevant to HMRC’s enquiry. As a former Inspector of Taxes, Mr Red knew, or should have known, that the side-letters were highly relevant to the enquiry.”
“The side-letters showed a form of contractual arrangement, and they proved linkage between the sums contributed into the sub-trusts at the appointed dates and their withdrawal as loans from the sub-trusts as contemporaneous transactions. The contractual aspect and the linkage between the amounts of contributions to the main Trust and the sums loaned had been repeatedly raised in the enquiry correspondence.
“A fair conclusion to be drawn from the circumstantial evidence on the one hand, and Mr Red’s oral evidence on the other, is that the side-letters had been actively concealed. The reason for the concealment might have been, in Mr Red’s view, the side-letters could be incriminating evidence against the impression of the trust operation that he had been trying to give.”
“While not denying the proposition put to him by the Respondents that ‘there’s an overarching contract with each of the footballers, consisting of the written contract and the side letters’, Mr Red maintained that ‘it’s our view that the side-letter or the letters of undertaking do not need to be registered or lodged with the SFA’ (Day 3/31-32).”
So, in evidence, Rangers witness Mr Red, did not deny the proposition that there was an overarching contract with footballers consisting of the declared contract and side-letters, but “it’s our view” that side-letters did not need to be lodged with the lodge SFA. Ms Poon suggests a fair conclusion is the side-letters were “actively concealed” as they could be “incriminating evidence”.
The SFA has issued disciplinary action against many clubs for erroneous registration but no club has ever faced a charge of actively concealing information necessary for proper registration.
The SFA president was a working director of Rangers when “our view” was established and was legally responsible for the club’s actions. As I noted yesterday, but, frankly, can still not comprehend, on publication of this report the president announced himself “somewhat vindicated” by its contents.
Majority opinion:
John McClelland became a board member of Rangers in 2000 (legally responsible for conduct and oversight) and according to Wikipedia held senior board level positions in the electronics industry. He was also a director of the SPL (legally responsible for conduct and oversight) between the company being formed 1997 and 2008.
The majority opinion, which favoured Rangers position in regards to income tax, noted the following about Mr Indigo, who was “a board member of Rangers since 2000. His previous career was in industry, latterly serving in senior executive roles.”
Mr Indigo “acknowledged that he was, however, aware of the overall content of arrangements made with players and did not consider these to be “secret”. He believed that the Trust had been used to pay appearance money and bonuses.”
According to rules established by SPL directors, including Mr McClelland, money paid in connection with football, including appearance money, has to be registered with the league. It also has to be registered with the SFA.
When the Lord Nimmo Smith Commission reports, we will discover if this is what passes as vindication in Scottish football, or if a senior officeholder of the SFA, and others, will be dismissed in disgrace and banned, sine die, from the game.
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All that way just to pick up a chicken… (thumbsup)
podium?
Well done Philvis
You must be yolking
Took my eye off the ball there :¬)
Afternoon
getr in
how do you do it Phil?
Years of paranoia won’t allow me to think they won’t find a ‘loophole’
Cheers Paul67, the wife is now happy that I’ve had my fix and we can now go shopping.
fro turkey too no chicken in sight lol
corkcelt
From old thread. I’m so slow on a keyboard that I constantly post on redundant threads.
12:40 on 26 February, 2013
I’m so old I remember my first car was a 1952 Morris Minor which I bought for £13 & ten shillings. The Indicators were little orange things that popped out the side of the car. This is totally true story. Anyone on here remember those pop out indicators
“Mr Red insisted in his evidence that the Trust was not a means of “tax avoidance””.
“It was noted in an internal memo prepared by Mr Red dated 8 September 2005 to the Board of MIH that he had described the Trust as a form of “tax avoidance scheme””.
Oops!
fro=from oops
PAUL67
I will not hold my breath for justice to be done,but you highlight parts of the reason why it should be rather to avoid.
They are bang to rights. The end.
Oh,wait-it’s SCOTLAND after all…
And despite all that evidence, put down in black and white for all to see, read and ignore, they won their tax case appeal.
Explain that to me!
I’m so old I remember the only way you could post on the old CQN before laptops was with an Etch-a-Sketch
VMHAN
I think I sent BT the info as requested,not sure as I had to trawl old e-mails where he was copied in.
Conclusion:
Mr Reds a barefaced liar!
markderrybhoy
Monitoring outgoing traffic I’d guess.
Both sneaky and childish
On behalf of Wee Oscar Knox, Stephen, Leona & Izzie Wee Oscar 4 Life would like to thank all those who have donated to the Cycle to Belfast Timternet Bampots justgiving page or any of our individual cyclists just giving pages.
As well as having broken the Timternet Bampots target of £2K a week ago, we are now sitting at just under £2,300
https://www.justgiving.com/WeeOscar4Life-Cycle-to-Belfast-March-2013/
Today however so us break through our overall target of £10K on the Wee Oscar Life Cycle to Belfast Teams/Individual cyclists justgiving page.
https://www.justgiving.com/teams/WeeOscar4Life-Cycle-to-Belfast-March-2013
With 2 and a half weeks to go until the cycle and not having yet counted in sponsorship forms and many of the Irish Bhoys and ghirls fund raising sponsorships it looks like we could blow the target away.
So once again a big big big Wee Oscar Thank You and thumbs up to
All Anonymous donations
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Can I have a raspberry on that
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WEE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU
WeeOscar4Life Team
i,am so old i cannot remember when the LNS enquiry started ;-0))))
never mind the spl and sfa top brass will ensure no stone is unturned
jam67
I’m so old I can remember anyone bar Philvis getting first post….
aye cc my dad had the traveller all that wood ,if i remember right the arm on the steering collum flashed too! funny old car i used to sit in the back playing with the dug….you’d get jailed fur that now(not having a seatbelt on,before some smarty suggests sumthin lewd)
Paul
Like others I wait to see what the result is and I know what I expect it should be may be …not necessarily that it will be that.
Interesting that it is now reported that Charles Green refused to comment on the party singing…… indeed many of his ramblings are becoming fewer and fewer…is this a sign of what’s coming over the horizon?
Noticed the I’m so old trend from this morning… I don’t consider myself old but remember going to mass on the Sunday in my grandads horse and cart (in sunny Donegal).
Corkcelt I remember those indicators too.
Hail Hail (back to lurking)
bawsman @12:41
Same bud. Same
Who runs the SFA and how can those people punish the group of clubs known as The Rangers International Holding and Trading company without punishing themselves??
I’m an optimist by nature so Mon the Nimmo…
Until RCO is disciplined and removed we’re only scratching the surface of the corruption…
BMCUW thanks amigo, I’ve just sent an email to BT so I’ll get it that way or maybe I’ll stick up my email addy. Some ahem friends are interested although aware that it could be a bit of stirring from you know who.
V
corkcelt
12:43 on
26 February, 2013
corkcelt
From old thread. I’m so slow on a keyboard that I constantly post on redundant threads.
12:40 on 26 February, 2013
I’m so old I remember my first car was a 1952 Morris Minor which I bought for £13 & ten shillings. The Indicators were little orange things that popped out the side of the car. This is totally true story. Anyone on here remember those pop out indicators
=====================================
I was about 4-5, went on holiday with my Granny and Gramps. My ‘job’ on the journey was to tell Gramps when the indicator wis oot.
Apparently I was talking in my sleep telling him ‘yer indicators oot Gramps’
Game gear pffftttt!!!!!
corkcelt
Remember them, – I’ve still got mine.
corkcelt
I remember them well, my Dad had a big old Vauxhall and they would pop out from the between the doors and if I remember right the front doors on that car were suicide doors.
corkcelt @ 12 43 .
I remember those pop out indicators.
Still see them on old Fiats in Italy. . Still see 3 wheelers on a Sicilian roads with the driver sticking his arm out the window when he wants to indicate a change in direction . Day and night !
I’m so old, I didn’t remember indicators were called indicators. I have always thought of them as those orange things that stick oot at the side sometimes.
This time
I’m so old I remember there being four seasons in a year, including a summer.
but “it’s our view” that side-letters did not need to be lodged with the lodge SFA.
hehehe
Thanks for the indicator pop out memories lhads, I still feel old but I don’t feel alone anymore.
I’m so old I remember the rag and bone man coming round the streets on a horse and cart.