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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Two Louden’s, you say!
Oldco Louden and Sevco Louden.
VFR800A8 at 7.27pm
Excellent submission to IPSO. Let’s hope that ot is the first of mant complaints. Hope those individually smeared take action to bring that rag to account.
Meantime, I would also encourage any Celtic supporting household which still buys that exuse of a newspaper to cease giving it the breath of life. No purchase, no internet clicks, no advertising, no sympathy when it meets its deserved fate. HH
Vfr
Now, If only Celtic would follow your example. Enough of being ragdolled by this mob.
Ban the scum.
HH
TOBAGO STREET on 12TH OCTOBER 2016 6:37 PM
Good man! Mail responded to.
BTW, my brother has moved to Arthur from Kitchener, if you know where that is.
FAC the Act
KTF
TTT
For the flying po tate o and the flying pot a to
HH
Awe Naw 7.05.
Brilliant, how does your mind work?
AWE_NAW_NO_ANNONI_OAN_ANAW_NOO on 12TH OCTOBER 2016 6:22 PM
Awe Naw: aw naw!
Evening champions…
Labour is for …words beginning with ?
Smiley thing…
Tick Tock. Goes Donald’s wee hands on his wee wee time piece….
Celtic is Celtic……
Braw.
Good Evening!
New blog just published about Jim Traynor and Mark Warburton’s trip to a restaurant after this afternoon’s calamitous press conference:
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2016/10/12/no-questions-for-warbo/
And here is my earlier offering about the many ‘scandals’ engulfing Celtic:
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2016/10/12/a-series-of-celtic-scandals/
Jobo, excellent post earlier, should be compulsory viewing,
https://youtu.be/Retl499FhEU
What is one to do?
Seemingly some ageing, old, duffer has managed to double book himself with a wee sunshine break to beautiful Northern Cyprus and the Champions’ appearance in a national cup semi final.
Tickets have been purchased for both events but it now appears they are mutually exclusive.
MrsEC67 informs me that my attendance on the scheduled flight to Ercan is non negotiable.
What ever is a man to do? If only there were a reasonable solution!
Maybe some of my CQN friends could advise? One would loathe to waste a ticket to watch the Champions play.
Eurochamps67
TootootoodaroodaroototoodaroodarooCSC
If you can…get itv4 on now. ….when football changed forever….
Hail hail
Matt
So the DR embraces inquisitorial journalism with today’s revelations about tax evasion. New story ? Perhaps someone should tell them the Beatles have split up. Top class investigations if I may so so. Haw you, stoap laffing !
The responses of Paul, Phil, JJ and an excellent piece in the “Celtic blog” all talk to this irrelevant, ill-informed balderdash more eloquently than I ever could. The DR basically displays the same level of intellectual rigour as The Dandy and Beano albeit they have brought pleasure to millions in their day.
Celtic should just circumvent that and any other friggin rag in Scotland and deal with English based journalists. These guys spoke lavishly about our City match and BR has a profile extending well beyond Scotland as indeed Celtic do. Treat the local MSM with the contempt they deserve.
Just saw the Sevco conference featuring big Traynor ( his girth not his height). Sometimes in life one gives oneself a showing up . Big Jimbo may experience that emotion if he watches it back. Meanwhile Jackass will be reading his comics with a view to some plagiarizing apropos upcoming articles .
ITV 4 NOW
What a bunch of crooks…if Celtic ever flitted into their cesspool of puss, we would no longer deserve the name, the game, the fame that pumps through the arteries of this magical myth that makes us smile…win,lose or draw.
Forget “more than a club”, forget “a club like no other” but never forget “Win, lose or draw”….. wow!!
Hail hail
Matt
Celtic Mac on 12th October 2016 2:15 pm
auldheid
The appeal against the Court of Session decision in favour of HMRC re the EBT case (04 November 2015) is being carried out by BDO (‘Joint Liqidators) and was given leave on 08 March 2016, the costs of which will be met by BDO. Nothing to do with the new Club. See ‘Report to Creditors 7 June 2016′ (online) for most recent update on assets and liabilities re the case. BDO has some £16 million for creditors, down from £24 million a year or two back. And counting.
==============
Thank you. I was just wondering of something stage left on tax dodging at Ibrox had emerged.
The tragedy is Traynor actually thinks he’s important
Bada Bing!!
More like comedy today.
The Record today went beyond shoddy journalism. It entered the realm of deliberately targeting Celtic in an attempt to tarnish the club’s commercial reputation. The lack of context of the “revelations”, the fact they have published the accusations before, and the breathtakingly selective editing of the list of people who engaged in such schemes reeks of an orchestrated, pre-determined strike.
We can speculate as to the motive and timing (though the internet seems to be coalescing around one particularly troublesome Sevco related bill). Ultimately, however, it seems clear there is bad news on the way for Sevco and this amounts to an attempt to spread some mis-information in anticipation of real trouble ahead.
What should the club’s reaction be?
Banning journos is the action of people who have stuff to hide. It’s the kind of thing Murray did, Whyte did, King would do.
It’s the Farage-Trump-Salmond approach to press management.
Celtic shouldn’t ban the Record. But I would certainly pull advertising from them, and cease any commercial tie-ups. I think there is a real chance the Record could head the same way as their beloved RFC, and, possibly, Sevco too…
Matt
Or…………………….Darn the hair do we care,
HH
BSR
Oh for the days I had hair to darn.
Hail hail
Matt
Ghuys, looking for a ticket for Borrusia home game, long shot I know, more chance of CFC dodging their taxes but if you can help lennybhoycfc@gmail.com
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Darn the hair did he care
Sammi CSC
Looking at the press conference at Murray Park… dear oh dear oh dear…
Is it staged? Or are Sevco really as rank amateurish as this?
And how ironic that Mr I-Respectfully-Demand-Respect is so disrespectfully ejected from his own press conference, by his own PR lackey.
Talk about a complete lack of respect…
Stokesie and the griff cared to darn their hair.
Since when did Jabba take up an official role with Sevco,
thought he had been papped oot long ago
Glendalys
Bob n Weave?
They tried to ban it
Hello again all you young rebels.
A CELTIC GRANPA’S DIARY.
Just back from first nights training at our new footy parks
the bhoys loved the new all weather pitch but the wee mhans
face is like a well skelped erse, think it’s because i chased all
the Aussie girls away from them, honestly it’s like a plague of
locusts descending as soon as they see the hoops and we don’t
get any training done.
The princess and the youngest 3 year old greets us at the door
” get awe the dirty claes aff oot there ave jist done the flerrs, an
whits awe that black dust?
” oh thats from the new g4 pitch they use it to bed it in honey ”
meanwhile wee Grace is marching up and down shouting ” mon
the oops..mon the oops ” she knows thats the procedure when
the wee mhan has his strip on, problem is she won’t go to bed
now until i’ve marched her up and down the hall on my shoulders
singing hail hail the celts are here and i’m knackered.
I’ll try and humour the wee mhan ” what did you think playing on
the new g4 then pal ?
” aye it’s great , at least you don’t get yir face and hair all muddy
when ye heedy it ”
” you lot don’t know how lucky you all are, back in the day when
we headered a ball if the lace had broke they just tied a knot in it
and if it hadn’t been dubbined ( greased ) it was like headering a
cannonball with a rivet on it ”
” Is that how yiv nae herr noo papa?
Right bed noo the two of yeez !
Aussie tims
Our rebel town of Mornington on the peninsula has a food and
wine festival this Sunday so get down there and drop in to the
Bay Hotel where our CSC gather for a great day out. this week
we have a Glasgow bhoy Tom Spalding aka Capt. Spalding band
playing, should be a hoot.
Oh and we have ALMORE’S bhoy giving us a visit, Doctor of
Economics no less, Paddymacoz will have his lord mayors chain
and robes on to greet him i guess :-))
H.H Mick
MELBOURNE MICK :
Love you posts mate – style and content – keep them coming!
I must confess to a little disappointment when hearing about the Rectum article today.
I understand that Dead club cheated, gaining an unfair sporting advantage by paying players they would otherwise not been able to afford in the form of a loan to avoid tax.
I was cheated as were supporters of other clubs.
And that hurts.
My frustration is our plc seem to have done little to pursue this injustice on behalf of me and u.
My disappointment is I can’t help shift the thought that maybe our reticence in pursuing this is in some way down to the fact that some of our plc may have tried to evade tax in their personal affairs?
Am I way off the mark ?
BSR
In Stokesie’s case……Wash n’ go.
GORDYBHOY64 on 12TH OCTOBER 2016 9:15 PM
Since when did Jabba take up an official role with Sevco,
thought he had been papped oot long ago
——————————————————————-
Good question!
Not sure he’s a direct employee but perhaps part of the huns contract with Level 5 PR is the (mis)management of press conferences? Whatever – keep him there – utter shambles today.
Jabba and Warbo Must Stay!!!!
http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/competitions/scottish-football/10605041/karamoko-dembele-8211-celtic8217s-child-prodigy
can’t think of who’d wee dembele remind you of – he’s not a lubo – like a mix of loads of celts
Glendalys…
Or possibly TIMotei.
Hail hail
Matt
Burghbhoy,
maybe they are waiting til the final appeal in the big tax case is decided,
Beatbhoy- 100% set up for me, Warbiola being played like a fiddle, Sally or Myth would never had to have been badgered the way the Tragic Hat is, on a daily basis
Gordybhoy64
Maybe mate.
I sure hope so
HH
MATT
well ,Tims are Head n’ Shoulders above everyone else.
MELBOURNE MICK….
Really enjoy reading your posts.
I have the same argument with my bhoy and my daughters boyfriend when they come back from fives…get the boots off as they pellets from the pitch makes a bloody mess, I prob sound like a teeny but I’m left clean it up.:((
My nephew is now in Sydney with his family, he’s not really into football but is Celtic orientated .
Both his sons will be running about with the hoops on, as myself and my brother will ensur it. HH