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.
We are busy pulling the next issue of CQN Magazine together. If you would like to write an article, or take out some advertising , get in touch, article@cqnmagazine.co.uk.
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NTASSOOLLA
They are genuinely held.
Mind,I was surprised at the size of your fan club!
HH….
If you employ a former tax adviser to run your tax afairs and you then get a considerable amount of heat from HRC would you not be very annoyed with the former tax adviser.
What do Rangers fans think of him ?
anyway , if you’re out there EU, any thoughts on ally and the team ?
Cant believe rogic wasnt put into 25man squad for europe when paddy was pulled out.
Hope he gets another good run out tomorrow night. Enjoying watching him. And mcgeouch.
Futures bright the futures green and white
PHILBHOY
GOOD MAN!!!!!
It’s hard and depressing times for the Catholic Church.
I’m not religious but owe a huge debt of gratitude to the priests and nuns who helped educating me. I know some of you think they made a right horlicks of it but I don’t.
There’s plenty of condemnation to go around. I’ll not add to it.
Could we please remember that the vast majority of our clergy are good and dedicated men and women. Many of them live in fear of false accusation. Last time I spoke at length to a priest was about 18 yrs ago. I went to school with him. He expressed that fear to me. It’s a long time to be living under such a shadow.
Borgo67
Alexandra Parade?
The best (single) days of my life!
I played for Dennistoun Waverley too.
Great days.
Peterscarf
” they were operated by a knob in the middle of the dashboard.”
What a strange place to sit. ;p
Well done, Paul. That’s you over the 100,000 words posted on the topic of Ra Gers then Sevco, since 13th. February 2012. A sterling effort!
BMCUW
Life’s too short.
My old Dad said love, never hate, and he was right.
Cheers.
The continuin saga of miki67 and his rôle in ‘Casualty’ : today an echocardiogram, Wednesday free, Thursday meet with Cardiac team to discuss e.c.g. Friday meet with Thoracic consultant to get results of yesterday’s Biopsy, and discuss plan of action. Barçelona v Real tonight (thank god for big mercies!).
And, as Wednesday is a day to do nothing I’m getting some moolah to wee Oscar’s cycle ride fundraising efforts.
My problems are as nothing compared to his.
I have lived a long, varied and rich life.
I wish the same for him. Just NEVER take up smoking, wee mhan! I don’t think yer mammy& daddy’d let you anyway.
Anyway, wee mhan, you’re in my thoughts every day. All the best to you.
Hail! Hail! KTF and ynwa.
Love from mr. & mrs.miki67.
philvisreturns
Are you old enough to remember the days before IP watchers and email alert notifications?
Bom dia,
…on the “I was so old…” motoring theme.
On of my first cars was a Mk1 Mini Cooper (I was about it’s tenth owner) which I bought in Edinburgh and drove home to John O Groats (about a 10 hr drive in these days). For those of you who remember, the Mk1 had the ignition button on the floor tunnel
Apart from that, two memorable things about that first journey were the heater freezing up about an hour into the journey (it was a few weeks before Xmas) and the full beam which wouldn’t come on for the headlights. So I had to drive all the way on frozen, trying to hold the column dipper switch onto full beam to see my way thru the snow.
On arriving home I proudly showed Pa skorrie my prize and confessed that I needed to get the dipper switch sorted. Pa laughed and said “Did you not wonder what that button on the floor beside the clutch was for?”
Foot switches for full beam and starter buttons. Now THAT was technology!
PS. Cremola Foam? What about Butterscotch Angel Delight – your weekly dose of E numbers in a spoonful.
greenmaestro
I can remember the coalman with his horse and cart delivering a hunnerwait of black gold, he would throw it on his shoulders like it was nothing, walk down the path and dump it in the coal shed in the back, we lived in a prefab and there was a coal shed made of corrigated iron/steel in the back yard. By the way, his wee horse looked miserable when it was cold and raining…..
Philbhoy
As I said .
A mothers love is a blessing.
(:-)
TT
BRTH @ 13:16
I like your thinking.
Is there also an issue to do with the trusts being ‘third parties’ making payments to players … ?
FF
Bhoys
A wee request…
I need additional drainage and some quality landscape work in my back garden inc decking and patio/path looking for someone to design and do the work in ML1
If you can do it or can recommend anyone get my email from Paul67 and send me a message….
Building up to a big high or low depending on the result this week re LNS
Kikinthenakas….
philbhoy . yes i saw you post a few things a while back about the area ,OLGC and your neighbours . you definitely know my family as i am sure you mentioned my brothers
Murdochbhoy, yermanfromMK
13:49 on 26 February, 2013
‘philvisreturns
Are you old enough to remember the days before IP watchers and email alert notifications?’
#########
FFS
It’s like the curtain being pulled back in The Wizard of Oz.
Are we to be left with no delusions at all?
Everyone had one – in Glasgow in case of another ‘Mars Attacks’
NTASSOOLLA
False accusation happened to an old teacher of mine.
A less likely candidate for the charges involved,you would be hard-pressed to find.
Needless to say when the verdict was overturned,he was a ruined man.
A schoolmate who became a Priest had his career wrecked by the Sunday Mail.
Sex allegations and Catholicism are more likely to be investigated than hard evidence about establishment figures.
Now,why is it you wish to return to Scotland?
borgo67
Give me a hint?
P McC and brothers J, J and I’ve forgotten one, old age.
Miki67
Lovely post
TT
Hi P. No point in me reccomending anyone but hope job turns out well for you. For a long time this Nimmo thing has been huge in my mind, there is absolutely no doubt they cheated their way to Title after Title, if they are not taken from them, it will be hard to retain a genuine interest in the Scooish game.
You all know I’m an old skool Socialist ; a Marxist created by Marists!
Anyway, the Catholic Church has been badly served by bad people, but at its core it remains a force for good. I will never waiver from that belief.
At times in my life, apart from giving me an excellent education, they have been there, right there, to help in serious practical ways.
Things will be sorted out. There are more good in The Catholic Church than bad.
It’s always a battle, and good will prevail. I truly believe this.
Catch yez later.
HH!
Even Scottish game.
Paul 67 and BRT & H
I am well aware that the LNS enquiry seems to offer fewer potential loopholes through which the accused may be allowed to escape.
However, I feel those loopholes were quite small in the Tax Case too but they were taken.
BRT & H may be right in that the Assenting Judges “wrongly concentrated on the payments from the subtrusts to players or relatives being loans– with the revenue conceding that these loans were not shams– and loans are not subject to tax.”
However they chose to concentrate on that and chose not to comment in any detail on all the misgivings and contrary evidence even though they knew Ms. Poon was not going to remain schtum and go along with them.
They basically said, we accept the EBTs were legal and the intention was to apply them legally because that is what those good chaps have told us.
For me it was more than a surprise and, since they will have good lawyers and I wish no trouble on this site, I will merely say that it came close to being derelict in their duty to explain their position.
If the same loophole were to be exploited by LNS, he could say that Campell Ogilvie and all other Administrators at Rangers acted in good faith to allow their club to exploit a scheme which no one else had been clever enough to think of. In good faith, they felt that they had given the SFA and governing bodies sufficient information in their accounts without disclosing their financial advantage for fear of losing it to other clubs who had not yet used this proven legal scheme.
Now, I am being clear that I am not predicting this outcome. I fully expect LNS to discharge his legal duty professionally and effectively.
But, if I am let down by a negative judgement that pronounces but explains little, then by adding that verdict to the Tax Case behaviour of the Assenting judges, and adding that to the 5 way agreement whose details cannot be fully disclosed, then I will conclude that secret cabals do hold some significant sway. That is not a position I have had to adopt previously in my life.
BourneSoupRecipe my post regarding stewards required at Parkhead yesterday was a bit flippant but your reply set me thinking.
Why are these vacancies there? Is the Celtic website the best place to reach the kind of men and women we would like to see more of at Parkhead? The old fashioned ones who reminded you of your granda. Maybe CQN’ers could mention it to anyone they think might fit the bill.
miki67
Keep going mate!
Your positivity is terrific.
You can do it!
I can still remember my Mum’s Co-op Dividend Number. You had to use it in the Co-op when you were sent to the shop.
burgas hoops
13:19 on
26 February, 2013
My first car was a Capri ……..and I’m so old, I can’t remember ANYTHING …….LOL
ntassoolla
14:00 on 26 February, 2013
Kevjungle would make a good steward????
Perhaps not he would start a fight in an empty stadium.
Corkcelt
I am hoping justice prevails both with the LNS and the FTT upper case….however where will that leave us if these investigations go against natural justice, it will be very hard to attend any football in Scotland again….
Hope you are well and your golf is coming on….
I’m so old that I’m gonna be deid before these stupid ‘I’m so old’ posts stop.
PS: Somebody do a nice eulogy for me.
….I’m so old the first car I was in was an Austin Princess…….the car stereo was an actual full size stereogram with drinks cabinet and capacious smoking room.
The two front seats were the size of Elvis settees and were made entirely of chinchilla fur.
The back seat was more of a foam and fabric based amphitheatre that made you feel like you were in a voluminous sound studio. The superstructure was I think, made entirely of mahogany.
It had no wheels, only rocket boosters.
GOOGYBHOY
It’s easy to remember.
You quote it to every passenger at the end of their trip…
ntassoolla
14:00 on 26 February, 2013
We should get CQNers to do all the stewarding.
Philvis would have to do the executive boxes and board room of course.
Vmhan could do the GB. He could even join in with the singing.
philbhoy , i own a chippy not a million miles from your old flat . My brothers lurk and post on here and will give me a hard time if i out them
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers
14:07 on 26 February, 2013
GOOGYBHOY
It’s easy to remember.
You quote it to every passenger at the end of their trip…
………..
Would make a few more bob like that.