The Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT) sitting on HMRC v Murray International Holdings (MIH) has ordered HMRC’s demand for unpaid tax to be reduced substantially. Claims Sir David Murray Employee Benefit Trust should be taxed were dismissed, but the UTT was not prepared to endorse that guaranteed bonus payments paid to Rangers players should not be taxed.
During the First Tier Tribunal MIH acknowledged tax should have been paid on EBTs given to a further five players, who were removed from the judgement (although the tax was never paid). Lord Nimmo Smith’s SPL Inquiry found Rangers guilty of not disclosing side-letters given to players which contractually bound EBT payments and arrangements. The Inquiry issued Oldco Rangers with a fine of £250,000. Newco Rangers agreed to pay all of Oldco’s football debts as a price to gain entry to the SFA and league structure. It is anticipated this fine will be collected in the event the club reaches top flight football.
Rangers did not dispute they operated an illegal Discount Options Scheme, which was uncovered by Craig Whyte’s investigators, when he carried out due diligence before buying the club from Sir David Murray. Tax due on this scheme was never paid.
Once in control, Whyte continued to operate the club’s tax arrangements in similar ethical standards. He failed to pay VAT, PAYE or National Insurance. Several hundred other creditors were left in the lurch as the club was liquidated.
At its heart, this is a morality tale. The first lesson which should be drawn is that it is far better to disclose your tax arrangements to the authorities than to hide them. When Celtic employed Juninho, who had an earlier EBT, they disclosed this fact and subsequent transactions to HMRC (Celtic never issued rule-breaking side-letters either).
Perhaps the most important lesson is not to allow debt to get out of control. Armed with the Discount Options Scheme and tax not paid on contractually guaranteed bonuses, HMRC were legally bound to pursue the club for money the tax payer was due – and will almost certainly never be paid.
Once that train was in motion, the club was at the mercy of its bank. MIH held substantial commercial property assets at this time, when the UK commercial property market took an average 45% nosedive. Then the bank itself (HBOS) was sold, exposing legacy arrangements to full commercial scrutiny.
Even then, even then, Rangers could have used the bonus of Champions League income to either rapidly pay-down their bank debt, or retain as a hedge against the consequences of the on-going tax dispute. Instead Walter Smith returned to the transfer market, spending what he could to keep his nose in front of Celtic.
This was an arrogant and fatal mistake.
When Whyte put his £1 on the table there was nothing the Independent Board Committee could do to dissuade Sir David from selling, but by then all the cards had been played, an insolvency event was on the horizon unless someone coughed up £18m to repay the overdraft, and no one was prepared to do this.
In the unedifying final days the club was reduced to turning, cap in hand, to lifelong adversaries to ask for rule changes which never arrived.
Despite all of this, humility among this lot is scarcer than a fully paid up tax receipt.
It took dozens of people working to promote Rangers on-field activities to kill the club. Those who failed to disclose side-letters, those who allowed debt to get out of control, those who sat on boards which endorsed Smith’s spending knowing the potential consequences, those who campaigned against the people who disclosed Whyte’s background, were all necessary for this outcome. Their reputations are now co-dependent
Celtic fans, HMRC nor the SFA killed Rangers. None of them* knew about the Discount Options Scheme, the undisclosed side-letters, the unpaid VAT, PAYE or NI bills. None of them decided to spend more than was prudently possible.
Killing Rangers was an inside job. The biggest rivalry in football is gone; we won, by an avalanche of own goals.
*apart from SFA president Campbell Ogilvie, who knew exactly what was going on.
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I’m tired of this football snobbery
Time to call out the whole Scottish football infrastructure
Pfayre yes we are being taken for fools. But what you need to remember is that the celtic board beliebve they are simply dealing with customers. We are there to be exploited and they think they are just doing their job.
But the massive miscalculation is the Hun situation. Get it wrong and there are no customer.s and bhoy are they getting it wrong.
Margaret the question is how do we change the debate??? We need the expung the celtic board……
PFayr
I know it’s not easy but we are one step on to the time the Rangers FC will be officially liquidated. No matter what decisions are made, or not made, in the meantime.
NegAnon2 @ 00:11
‘NegAnon2 @ 00:04
Morrisey tommy wasn’t great. He was pathetic.’
– That IMO is not you making an opinion but making a statement of fact.
‘Bring it on.’ – Vote Tory or whatever you like. Remain arrogant or be more civil with me. ‘you are perfectly entitled to your opinion. And I am to disagree with you.’
With the greatest respect, I neither have the time nor care enough to debate with you.
I’ve too many things to do before I go to bed. x
Scotland 2014 tonight RE Glasgow Rangers (oldco) win appeal against BTC by HMRC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkfQB62ANRQ&feature=youtu.be
PFayr, just checked and I sent it on 22nd June to your -company address. Check your inbox for that day and if you didn’t get it give me another addy and I’ll send it again. I didn’t get a fail to send notification so you should have it.
HH
Morrissey 23, check your text ya mad fud.
A Ceiler Gonof Rust @ 01:31
I’m chatting to Canamalar (1 hour 20 minutes and counting).
Good night all.
Esp ACGR whose 1.31 post demonstrates his multi talented self as both psychiatrist and gynaecologist.
;-)
HH jamesgang
Canamalar and myself are making plans to install Neganon2 as the last king of Scotland. Apparently Adi Amin says he’s a great doctor.
Morrissey, thanks for the link. The bald dude looks like the archetypal brain dead uneducated zombie that he is. But……………..
WTF kind of crap is this to put on our telly’s though?. Forty six seconds in the investigative “journalist” bimbo informs me that the huns were stripped of trophy’s?
I must have been in a dram induced coma when that happened.
Utter shite, Although I like the cut of Heggarty’s jib.
Morrissey / Canamalar, setting up some kind of yes voting gay dating club?
Resolution chase me roon the flowers. A right couple of goodwins.
Morrissey23rd
Thank for that clip.angela done well
HH
@Morrissey23rd · 3h
“Stripped of trophies”?? Which trophies?
Morrissey the 23rd
Thanks for the link to the BBC report. Houston was too busy trying to have a pop at the BBC and was patently ill-informed.
Also re the link to the Asterisk Years – since then, I’ve had an email exchange with Paul L. and the US premiere is in Philly next January. It’s my anniversary when it’s on so I have already asked Mrs RWE if asked like to go to a film premiere to celebrate. I haven’t told her it’s in an Irish Bar yet.
HH
This is in no way a representation of the way people were at the Pool event last week. o_O
Come and have a go, if you think you are indeed, hard enough, be very aware though, that it’s not easy.
I got…… 10 Metres…. it is a lot more than button bashing, of that there is no doubt.
FascinatingRhythm.csc
HH
Morrissey the 23rd 01:58 on 11 July, 2014
@Morrissey23rd · 3h
“Stripped of trophies”?? Which trophies?
…………………..
Noticed she was wearing a Holland top though, so maybe she let her own prejudices show through a wee bit in that intro.
“Stripped of Trophies and relegated to the 3rd Division”
The DR Front Page has headline The Moment That Killed Rangers (on Twitter)
Bollox! The moment was when Walter Smith rejoined SDM. All facts and figures here.
.http://www.tsfm.net/it-takes-two-to-tangle/comment-page-18/#comment-25253
(Its amazing what I’ve forgotten :0) )
Benjybhoy,
Sincere condolences on the loss of your Dad.
God Bless you and all of his family and friends at this painful time.
YNWA
RWE @ 02:04
Magic! See if you can get Margaret McGill to go too.
Maggie.
Ah telt ye.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/brazil/10960875/Brazils-Neymar-says-he-was-nearly-nearly-paralysed-by-Zuniga-tackle-in-World-Cup-clash-with-Colombia.html
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
23:57 on
10 July, 2014
Neg..,
I blame me, I played their game, I just found out that the letter we’ve been working on for the last five months has not been sent, scunnered and will be minuting all future meetings, most likely publishing said minutes as the discretion agreement has failed IMO.
I am waiting a response from some “city” people/legals who have been asked what the correct process to apply the correct pressure for results and the contingencies if we are dismissed by the board. As I keep saying this is a long haul flight.
——————————————-
Neganon
I believe Canalamar’s understanding is incorrect. The letter went to the SFA end of May and it has focussed SFA attention but no written reply as yet.
I think the misunderstanding was exacerbated from reading an article from 2012 that was thought to be current and I have been in touch with Canalamar
Celtic’s lawyer has the detail, went on holiday and will return to the fray sometime in the coming week is the current position as I believe it to be.
RWE @ 02:07
I reckon she is clueless ‘journalist’ who has got her information from the SMSM churnalists. ‘Relegated’. The truth is the Newco were fast-tracked into Div 3.
A CEILER GONOF RUST 0044
Aye,right.
You renewed because your bro telt ye he would kick f..k outa ye if you didnae.
Which is fine by me. (Yer reason for renewing,not necessarily yer bro kicking f..k outa ye)
From the Ibrox Loyal Facebook 2 hours ago:
Rangers fans grow tired of Sons of Struth “spokesman” Craig Houston.
After his shambolic appearance on BBC Scotland 2014 tonight on BBC 2, in which Rangers were attacked from all angles by the BBC and Angela Haggert by spouting inaccuracies.
Many fans were left angered not only by Angela Haggerty and The BBC, but Houston himself. The way he handled himself on the show was not what we wanted in anyone that tries to represent the Rangers support.
He was nothing more than a puppet, and for the most part kept stumbling and clearly knew nothing about the why and how Rangers went through what they did.
Which left a lot of us asking: Should Craig Houston stop talking on “behalf of the fans” or even for Sons of Struth?
If you’ve seen the highlights of the program., you’ll know where the anger to everyone involved on the program comes from.
https://www.facebook.com/ibrox.loyal/posts/691992584207038
Te comments to that post are hilarious but I am not going to copy and paste them onto here. I posted the link if you want to look for yourself.
Neganon
PF Ayr
67 Heaven
If you check the last update on Res 12 at http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/resolution-12-latest-update/
you will see that Celtic wrote to the SFA which was around 23 May.
As I said it got SFAs attention and they want to talk to Celtic about the detail of what is driving the shareholders resolution.
As you were men. :)
NEGANON 0013
Correct,mate.
I misread CANAMALAR’s post. Badly.
I’ll be very interested in how they explain their tardiness.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story……Mark Twain
I need to fix this sticky ‘h’ key. It’s messing up too many posts. ;)
Or,in latest news,not. As the letter has indeed been sent.
It seems.
More later,no doubt.
MORRISSEY THE 23RD
I suggest you hold yer laptop in your free hand.
Witty little article on aggressive tax avoidance.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2014/jul/10/arctic-monkeys-rock-stars-tax-avoidance
A kwerr per of Bristol Cities finest birds.
ulterior motives. :))
Morrissey the 23rd
03:10 on 11 July, 2014
I need to fix this sticky ‘h’ key. It’s messing up too many posts. ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hector, Why are you so patient now. Kill them Hector and put them out of their Misery.
BobM, I renewed because I realised I’d have hated myself sitting listening to our first home game of the season on the radio and thinking “what a prick I am, I could and should have been there”. I couldn’t help being a tim.
Your wild speculation involving my bruv is well off the mark and is simply laughable, I’d chib him anyway for previous the wee durty bass ee iz.
Offski for a call with some Indian chaps, hopefully my last one. Then a full day’s work before taking auld Jungle Jim out on the man’s course at Carnoustie at 12.30. He’s getting pumped like a royal
He’s also getting the privilege of some acgr sausage.
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They’re from Dumfries but that would have spoiled my joke. Simply ra best sausages, We are the sausages etc etc
Celtic
A CEILER GONOF RUST
Haha,I know yer intentions were honourable and unforced.
Just glad yer back. So is Coia’s.