This morning the Daily Record led with a front page headline “Celtic and the tax dodge firm”. They went on, “Celtic supremo Peter Lawwell and other club figures have been linked to a £434million tax dodge”, linking Martin O’Neill, Neil Lennon and a number of players from the O’Neill era.
Let’s be clear on the facts of this case:
Celtic employees (they did speak to each other) took advice from one of the big four accountancy firms and made arrangements accordingly.
Each of these employees declared these arrangements to HMRC.
HMRC informed them that these ‘investments’ were not offset-able against tax.
All Celtic and former Celtic staff settled this issue with HMRC years ago.
This was reported in 2012 (a cursory internet search will confirm). Nothing new has happened to any Celtic or former Celtic employee since. No Celtic or former Celtic employee is involved in any on-going related issues.
Celtic pay employees through income declared to HMRC. Tax was and is deducted at source and paid to HMRC – including the matter referred to today. They even asked HMRC if tax was due on Juninho’s EBT and paid by return when told it was.
There are no hidden tax schemes at Celtic. There are no side-letter arrangements at Celtic nor has there ever been. There are no disputes with HMRC.
The newspaper headline is misleading; “Celtic and the fax dodge firm”. There is not once piece of correspondence between Celtic and HMRC or any other body on this matter. Celtic deducted and paid tax to HMRC which their employees subsequently applied for relief against. HMRC have not demanded any connected payment from Celtic, nor is any due.
They can pick on Peter Lawwell, Martin O’Neill and Neil Lennon if that is their motivation (their hostility to each of them has been clear for years), but headlines putting the words “Celtic” and “tax dodge” are designed to damage your club. This is unacceptable.
The bigger question is “Why?”
It’s a tax issue reported years ago which nothing will subsequently happen about because nothing is in dispute by any of the parties concerned. So why make it a front page story now?
That remains a mystery for the time being, but know how ‘news’ works in Scotland, and more importantly, know who instructs what makes the news. This has all the hallmarks of a deflection piece before something bigger hits the fan. Someone is panicking.
The issue remains what do Celtic do about this kind of media distortion. Some newspapers are under so much financial pressure they live for tomorrow’s headline, accountability is a luxury they cannot afford to think about. They do not appear concerned at biting the hand that feeds them.
One (good) news journalist I know told me the football guys keep his ‘paper afloat, as no one would buy to read his (worthy) submissions. Football is the last gig in town for the old media. As a consequence, your club will be savaged at any opportune moment, with or without just cause.
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My condolences to HT and Minx
Where did Charlie Findlay come from.
Minx, HT and DD sorry to here of the deaths of Charlie and Swiggy. Off to Mass in a few moments and I will offer up a prayer for the repose of their good souls and for all of you who suffer from their passing. R.I.P.
Charlie Finlay R.I.P.
Hamilton Tim
My condolences to you and The Minx on the passing of her Uncle Charlie.
HamiltonTim, Minx and Delaney’s Dunky sorry to hear about your sad loss. Both Charlie and Swiggy sound like they had full and guid lives, and will be missed. Look after yourselves and your families. Take care.
Big Jimmy
Simply put:
Individuals put their own money into a partnership / scheme and claim tax relief on the investment.
This triggers a level of tax relief for the individual.
This is not the same as EBT schemes . In the case of Lawell , Lennon etc, they were investing their own money, which they’d already paid tax on to HMRC.
It’s the tax amount they benefited from that HMRC will seek to claim back, plus interest.
Celtic FC may have , or may not have, advised employees of such schemes, but have done nothing wrong despite the best efforts of certain media outlets to use vague wording to intimate otherwise .
Now the HMRC has determined it is an illegal scheme, they will have to pay back all they owe. Plus some.
Quite right too.
PARKHEADCUMSALFORD on 13TH OCTOBER 2016 1:42 AM
I saw earlier some mention of the DR suggesting that some Celtic employees were in trouble with the tax authorities. There seemed to be the distinct possibility that this was to deflect from major problems looming down Govan way. Have there been any developments that I have missed,being in a very different time zone?
……………………………….
There has been a lot of talk on blogs about unpaid bills dating back to March this year. Phil Mac has been heavily hinting at unpaid tax invoices for the last two quarters. John James suggested the other week that they were due to run out of money around the end of October but Phil felt they had enough to keep going to December.
Yesterday’s piece in the Record smacked of desperation from Level 5 so it looks as if something’s brewing and is about to come to a head imminently.
I’d like to nominate ACGR for the next Poet Laureate for his poem “Durty Huns” which just misses being a haiku on account of having a few too many syllables. Poignant and heartfelt nonetheless.
:-))
We really are scraping the bottom of the barrel when we ask the loaf for his opinion on what is wrong with Scottish football ….. he’s a fine one to talk with any authority, when he can’t even work out a plan B for his own cretins when they are getting embarrassed on the park ……. a pathetic attempt from the media to raise his profile from ‘zero to hero’….. but, guess what. It’s not going to work ….there’s nothing there ….. shoite begets shoite … hahahahahahaha
BIG JIMMY, TWISTS AND TURNS has summed the tax relief bit up well.
However, there is a sting in the tail here. The tax offset was based upon repayments of loans taken out to partly finance the films. The film producers money repaid the loan so the investor never saw the actual income.
HMRC are now categorising this money as taxable income (at a higher rate of 40%) so the investors may now be pursued for that tax. So in all likelihood they will lose a substantial sum of money overall.
Gordon Gecko eat your heart out!
FAC the Act
KTF
For TOSB:
A very old Haiku:
`An old silent pond…
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again`
A very new Haiku:
`The ground is silent.
Dembele scores a goal
Celtic Park erupts.`
JJ
I’m organising a Race Night as a Fund Raiser for St Mary’s in The Calton (so Fr Tom informed me last week). We’ve had a few and they are good wee nights. If anyone is interested in going, it’s on Friday 18th November. Tickets £5 each and usually involves some free grub as well – pie’n’peas, some home baking etc.
You can contact me at vfr800a8@me.com for further info.
For those not able to go, I am reserving Race 8 for CQN posters only. You can buy (and name) a horse for £10; you can be the jockey for £10. Winning owner and jockey get £50 each. I could even see if Fr T will throw in a Plenary Indulgence for each winner! :>)
Looks like Race 8 is oversubscribed, so I will also set aside Race 1 for CQN’ers to participate in
FAC the Act
KTF
Should have happened years ago (Thugs and Thieves etc etc) but now is the time to ban this rag from the place and for Celtic to develop a similar stance to Liverpool with that other rag. Klopp really went up in my estimation a few weeks ago when he refused to acknowledge that other rag in a press conference. Perhaps we need to follow suit. The GB should maybe have a display to let the rag know how the support views them..
Celticmac
Apologies for delay, but thanks for your explanation bout the reduction of the pot
:-)
Hh
http://fansagainstcriminalisation.com
I wonder if any news outlets will pick up on this?
MWD
TWISTS N TURNS on 13TH OCTOBER 2016 9:22 AM
As stated in Paul67s article Celtic did not advise of such schemes it was one of the so called ‘big four’ accountancy firms (PWC, Deloitte, E&Y, KPMG). Celtic may have advised players and staff to seek financial advice from an accountant, and possibly have suggested which one to use but that’s as much as can be said.
Wonder why the DR failed to mention one of their own columnists was engaged in similar schemes as the Celtic cinephiles. Just a little oversight I’m sure.
From the JJ site.
Maurice Ross: Taxi Technology LLP & McCashback Software LLP + £120,000 EBT
Craig Moore: Eclipse No.1 LLP, WRP Dryvac LLP, Taxi Technology LLP +£1.1m EBT
Scott Wilson: Eclipse No.1 LLP, Taxi Technology LLP.
Barry Ferguson: Eclipse No.9, WRP Dryvac & Taxi Technology + £2.5m EBT
Jorg Alberz: Eclipse No. 1.
Walter Smith: Roosternet Global LLP.
Archie Knox: Roosternet Global LLP.
Alan McGergor: Taxi Technology LLP.
Alex Cleland: Eclipse No. 1, Taxi Technology LLP.
Alan Mclaren: Taxi Technology LLP.
Bob Malcolm: Taxi Technology LLP + £125,000 EBT
Charlie Miller: Taxi Technology LLP.
Russel Latepy: Eclipse No.9 LLP.
Kevin Muscat: Eclipse No.4 LLP.
Paul Gascoigne: Scotts Atlantic Distributors LLP.
David Healy: Invicta No.12 LLP
Sorry if covered before.
These feckin pop up ads are driving me nuts!!!! – and it’s resulting in less lurking for this bhoy.
I’ve got an IPhone 5e with Safari – can I ask for feedback from anyone who has installed some sort of ad blocker on their iPhone?
Which one is recommended?
The “Pros” are obvious, if it stops the pop ups. But are their any “Cons”?
I’m wary of downloading anything at all, as I’m absolutely hopeless with techie/gadgets and would struggle to rectify something that does more harm than good!
Thanks in advance
Cmon the Hoops
HH
THEORIGINALSADIESBHOY on 13TH OCTOBER 2016 9:40 AM
I’d like to nominate ACGR for the next Poet Laureate for his poem “Durty Huns” which just misses being a haiku on account of having a few too many syllables. Poignant and heartfelt nonetheless.
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There was me thinking ACGR was a few syllables short of haiku rather than being over-endowed with’em… :-))
ACGR – just a wee joke dude. Come on now, put that golf club down…!
call me Gerry on 13th October 2016 10:38 am
Go to the app store on your phone and download ADBlock Plus and NeverAds. I use both on my iPhone and iPad and never get any ads.
FAC the Act
KTF
I see one Joseph Anthony Barton is involved with Phoenix Film Partners LLP, along with James Lee Carragher, Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey, Robert David Keane, Steven George Gerrard and many more.
Hamiltontim, Minx and Delaneys Dunky heartfelt condolences on the passing of your loved one’s. A wee Rosary said for Charlie and Iain. Y.N.W.A.
Going off with the boss lady at weekend to do north coast 500. Will be in muir of Ord on Saturday then Thurso on Sunday then Ullapool on Monday not sure where on Tuesday. If anybody is near and fancies a pint or 2 give me a shout. Also if any ideas of places of interest that would be appreciated.
HH
KTF
UTLR
VFR @ 10.48
Cheers mate
Minx/HamiltonTim,
My sincere condolences. And my heart goes out sincerely to all who have lost a loved one not just recently… but ever. Time can dilute the hurt of the loss but it can’t ever take away the loving memories.
To all, honour those that have gone away by being the best part of them in your life.
HamiltonTim, Minx and Delaney’s Dunky, my condolences to all of you in these sad times, may you and yours find strength and comfort…
SP
Interesting snippet from John James’ latest.
“CFC have now been apprised of the precarious state of the roofs (at Ibrox) and are not prepared to sell tickets for the Hogmanay game unless they receive a green light from an independent structural engineer,”
How true and accurate i don’t know, but fair play to the Board if it’s true.
The problem with all of these schemes is that they are designed to dodge tax – and are sold as “legal” – which they are until challenged. It takes HMRC to go through the courts at great public expense to challenge the legal status of each scheme.
Do we have a law yet that makes it an offence to design such a scheme? It’s the designers that need to be targeted – jail time would be a good disincentive…
NATKNOW on 13TH OCTOBER 2016 11:12 AM
That’s dodgy ground. They’re designed to exploit ambiguity in the written law. While I totally understand where you’re coming from and agree with the motive, what you suggest would make any testing of ambiguity in law illegal.
VFR & others.
Thanks for the advice in relation to the claims against Celtic and staff etc.
VFR, regarding the race night on 18th November I am keen to attend, but can I let you know nearer the time, as due to a late finish that night my bus service might prove a problem and in any case I would have trouble walking from the venue to the bus station to try and get home ?
I have no problem in arranging a taxi home, but it is rather expensive on top of what I may spend on the race night ?
However,financially I may have received some good news ( ££££££) by the time of the race
night anyway ?
Failing that scenario, IF other posters were going and lived relatively near me, maybe we could arrange to share a taxi ?
HH
RIP Swiggy .
WEEMINGER on 13TH OCTOBER 2016 11:25 AM
NATKNOW on 13TH OCTOBER 2016 11:12 AM
That’s dodgy ground. They’re designed to exploit ambiguity in the written law. While I totally understand where you’re coming from and agree with the motive, what you suggest would make any testing of ambiguity in law illegal.
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I’m not sure it is. The test would be whether the scheme was designed with the intent to circumvent the rules. It’s the intent that is being tested – not the ambiguity. Similar to when the law needs to decide whether someone acted unlawfully in other cases with intent. Where intent is proven, the punishment is more severe and (it is often argued) therefore acts as a deterrent.
Yesterday it was Celtic 434 million tax dodgers,today its Celtic in dodgy land deal probe…..do you think some bad news is expected from Ibrox soon?
Additionally, hundreds of millions in public money is currently being spent testing each scheme individually, and as citizens we don’t know where we stand. That’s the status quo – and is what will keep on happening.
What alternative would you suggest to eliminate such schemes?
Call Me Gerry
We are on this at the moment. Hopefully you will see an improvement later today.
In the meantime you can go into settings on your iPhone and down at the bottom turn off Javascript and that will sort it for you.
NATKNOW on 13TH OCTOBER 2016 11:30 AM
Except the schemes don’t circumvent the rules. They look at the rules and create a scheme that, in their opinion is not covered by the rules.
As soon as it’s proven in court that the rules do apply, the scheme is stopped.
Rules are never intentionally broken. That’s why it’s such a great situation for the accountants.
I think I saw something recently about making the proposal companies liable to either a fine equal to total tax owed or for any uncollected tax (ie due to bankruptcy etc). I think hitting the companies financially would work better than sending some individual to jail.
I’ve seen a lot of chat on here about banning journalists and issuing statements…..
The only people who will have been convinced by this “investigation” are the same people who believe we received state aid. We can’t worry about ignorant zombie wishful thinking.
We’re on our way to 5 in a row, we are in the CL and we are getting on with the business of being a football club. Rise above it.
We have no need to ban people. We don’t need to pay for headlines. Celtic are winning and they can’t bloody take it.
The Zombies are headed for another catastrophe and they are too stupid to see it. I welcome any story that keeps them stupid.
I think all this “Tax story”is a bit old hat.Mel Brooks done it all ages ago with his film”The Directors”.
“Springtime for Celtic and the GB,
Winter for Sevco and Huns”.
Big Jimmy, you can let me know nearer the time about the race night!
FAC the Act
KTF