Rangers players ‘have EBT penalties wiped out’ over HMRC tax bill

[Blackpool Dave]

Taking us out of this as fans. How much money has been wasted on this for taxpayers and for what return? Very little, they probably didnt even get case law for future!!!

We are fans but we are also taxpayers also heads miuet roll.

 

[Wamphray_Loyal]

It's absolutely disgusting what some of our players were put through .

 

[davhow]

Sorry but that doesnt explain it. If the players were classed as subcontractors and Rangers were due to take tax off of them at source then why would the players have to pay tax again?

Players were never subcontractors, you may be thinking of the Construction Industry Scheme, which wouldn't apply here.

If HMRC is owed PAYE they will chase both parties. Not in the case where an employee simply doesn't pay it, but where it has been concealed or accounting or book-keeping error they will chase both and see who pays up first.

 

[TN8]

They still owe money, just not penalties.

 

[Gio#56]

another thing, if it takes 6 years for HMRC to acknowledge a 50m penalty was to high. Think of the creditors pot getting hammered by 6 years of BDO services. Surely HMRC need to be paying this fee too,

 

[Gibbonbear]

Yet, curiously, mentally challenged myopia over legal entities doesn't stretch to CBC & its' parent Club , does it?

And their concerns over tax revenue does not appear to extend to their own club from the CEO, financial director ,manager and players using the film company ruse to avoid paying tax .

 

[Goity]

not really . Celtic walked to 15 out of 21 trophies since 2012 , uncontested runs to the champions league and even now we are still in recovery .

There was a conspiracy to destroy our club imo and no matter what anyone says to the contrary i truly believe it

With Labour & SNP headed up by rabid moonhowlers at the heart of it.

I beleive it was a concerted effort to wipe out a predominately unionist support/club in an effort to strengthen the Scottish independence agenda.

Don't believe that the heart of this is solely a football thing.

A vote for any of these two parties is a vote for the destruction of the United Kingdom.

 

[DJ_RFC_1872]

mentally challengeds in high places will always be for the watching.

 

[Ricksen]

RANGERS players and staff have reportedly been sent letters wiping out any EBT penalties that may have been due.

This needs to be 100% confirmed.

Agreed. I’ve still got haters on FB still saying the whole thing is a lie.

 

[Gio#56]

It's absolutely disgusting what some of our players were put through .

Fernado Ricksen went to press how it was affecting him during his fight against that horrible disease.

As I have said before, the poor man never needed this during his last years. His family never needed this when they were raising funds for his care.

RIP Ferando, we wont forgive or forget and I hope our club does likewise.

 

[LOL 133]

Players were never subcontractors, you may be thinking of the Construction Industry Scheme, which wouldn't apply here.

If HMRC is owed PAYE they will chase both parties. Not in the case where an employee simply doesn't pay it, but where it has been concealed or accounting or book-keeping error they will chase both and see who pays up first.

Cheers. I know the players were never sub contractors but I was replying to another poster that used it as an example.

What you're saying is both parties get chased for tax if the tax isnt paid? I wonder if I dont pay my tax if they'll chase my employer. Im joking but it doesnt seem right to me.

 

[northside blue]

you would think the powers that be in scotland would be calling for heads about this scandal ,a world famous club in their own country near killed off because of this, then again some of them might have been involved and even encouraged the end of rangers, i hope this is not brushed under the carpet like so many other things in this country.

 

[Walters80]

That’s something else I could never understand why did they make the claim against both employees and employer? Surly it had to be one or the other?

 

[calmac1872]

Read the latest article from the sun there where the reporter has interviewed a tax expert, one of the questions he asked the expert was,

6. A letter from HMRC says they are dropping the £24m penalty charge because ‘there is no evidence of fraudulent or negligent behaviour’. So has the taxman over-reached himself by making the £24m claim? Why would they use such language if they still had a case?

The bit that jumped out was HMRC says they are dropping the £24m penalty charge because there is no evidence of fraudulent or negligent behaviour. Are HMRC it wasn’t tax evasion now and where’s this letter he spoke of?

 

[calmac1872]

Admitting it wasn’t tax evasion*

 

[Gary Mitchell]

There must be some recourse one of us on ssb who was clearly ragin put across some very good points and left the panel with %^*& all to say except a pishy wee Trump comment these bastards know if 2012 never happened there beloved poops would have amounted to %^*& all.

 

[Gio#56]

There must be some recourse one of us on ssb who was clearly ragin put across some very good points and left the panel with %^*& all to say except a pishy wee Trump comment these bastards know if 2012 never happened there beloved poops would have amounted to %^*& all.

yep, they still managed a giggle, despite the callers anguish and pain.

 

[George Goudie]

A genuine wow. All that for nothing

All that for a 'TAINTED EIGHT'.

 

[Gio#56]

Rangers stars have £70 million wiped off EBT tax bill by HMRC
Former Rangers stars were being chased for £100m but that bill has shrunk down to £24m.

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By
Keith Jackson

• 04:30, 15 NOV 2019

NEWS
Former Rangers chairman Sir David Murray championed the EBT scheme between 2001 and 2009 (Image: SNS Group 0141 221 3602)
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Anxious former Rangers stars could be spared from financial ruin after the tax man agreed to write off about £70million of employee benefit trust cash.
The Daily Record can today reveal that a huge cast of Ibrox old boys have been told by HMRC that tens of millions of pounds worth of outstanding penalties and interest accrued on their controversial payment scheme have been cut as part of an agreement with liquidators BDO.

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It has been claimed the authorities helped tip the club into the financial meltdown of 2012 by inflating the potential bill for the use of the offshore trust scheme by as much as £50million – creating a liability so crippling that it scared away all potential new owners with the exception of the catastrophic Craig Whyte.
Conflicting claims insist HMRC have made no such admission and have only agreed to adjust their numbers to help smooth through the legal process which began more than four years ago when oldco Rangers went under.

Former captain Barry Ferguson was enrolled in the EBT scheme (Image: PA)READ MORE

• Rangers legend Ally McCoist breaks silence on bombshell HMRC claims

But the news should come as a welcome relief to the long list of EBT recipients who have been told they must only now stump up enough to cover the money the Supreme Court ruled should have been paid in income tax.
It was believed the list – made up of former players, coaches, managers and directors – were being chased for close to £100million.

Now that sum has come down to about £24million.
Former Rangers chairman Sir David Murray championed the EBT scheme between 2001 and 2009, paying out £47.6million to staff, players and himself.
Critics say it gave the club a massive advantage over rivals by enabling them to sign players they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to afford.
READ MORE

• HMRC win £450m tax avoidance scheme as football stars and celebrities lose out

Murray rolled the scheme out across the club – from big-name stars such as former captain Barry Ferguson and all-time record £12million signing Tore Andre Flo to managers Dick Advocaat and Alex McLeish.

Murray also received payments to the value of more than £6million, which means he owes £3million in tax.
The taxman started looking into Rangers’ EBTs in 2010, while Murray was looking to sell his controlling interest in the club.
In 2012, new owner Whyte took Rangers into administration after failing to pay a separate £9million in PAYE and National Insurance.
The EBTs
Rangers employees who were part of the EBT scheme included:

Sir David Murray £6.3million. Owned club from 1988-2011.
Barry Ferguson £2.5million. Former youth player who became Rangers captain. Played at Ibrox from 1996-2003 and 2005-9.
Stefan Klos £2million. German international keeper signed in 1999 for £800,000. Joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2007.
Dado Prso £1.9million. Croatian striker was free transfer in 2004. Left for Dinamo Zagreb in 2007.
Christian Nerlinger £1.8million. German midfielder signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2001 and left in 2004.
Alex Mcleish £1.7million. Managed Rangers 2001-6.
Dick Advocaat £1.5million. Rangers manager from1998-2002. Spent almost £74million to win five trophies, including two titles.
Michael Ball £1.4million. Left-back signed from Everton in 2001 for £6.5million. Moved to PSV Eindhoven in 2005.
Tore Andre Flo £1.3million. Norwegian striker joined from Chelsea in 2000 for £12million. Sold for £6.75million to Sunderland in 2002.
Nacho Novo £1.2million. Spanish striker joined in 2004 from Dundee for £450,000.
Ronald De Boer £1.2million. Dutch midfielder joined in 2000 under Advocaat.
Thomas Buffel £1.2million. Belgian midfielder joined in 2005 for £2.3million from Feyenoord.
Craig Moore £1.1million. Australian centre-half played more than 90 games from 1994-98. returned in 1999 until 2005.
Claudio Caniggia £1million. Argentinian signed from Dundee for £1million in 2001.
Kevin Muscat £1million. Australian defender joined from Wolves in 2002 on free transfer. Joined Millwall in 2003.
Pedro Mendes £1million. Portuguese midfielder joined in 2008 for £3million. joined Vituria Guimares in 2010.
Nuno Capucho £970,000. Portuguese winger who arrived in 2003 for £700,000.
Peter Lovenkrands £902,000. Danish winger arrived in 2000 from Akademisk Boldklub for £1.3million.
Fernando Ricksen £684,225. Dutch right-back signed in 2000 from AZ Alkmaar for £3.75million.
Mikel Arteta £674,603. Spanish midfielder joined in 2002 and played 50 matches, scoring 12 goals. Moved to Everton.
Lorenzo Amoruso £639,000. Italian defender signed from Fiorentina for £4million in 1997. Moved to Blackburn Rovers for £1.4million in 2003.
Julien Rodriguez £638,000. French centre-half signed from Monaco in 2005 for £1million. Left for Marseille in 2007.
Jean-Alain Boumsong £630,000. French centre-half joined in 2004 on free transfer. Moved to for Newcastle for £8million
Steven Davis £600,000. Northern Ireland midfielder. Left for Southampton in the summer.
Paolo Yanoli £592,000. Italian left-back joined from Bologna in 2003. Played 28 times.
Alex Rae £569,000. midfielder arrived at Ibrox in 2004 and spent two years there. Played 34 games.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos £532,200. Greek centre-half came from Panathinaikos in 2005.
Arthur Numan £510,000. Dutch full-back arrived at rangers from PSV Eindhoven in 1998 for £4.5million. Played 118 times.
Ronald Waterreus £510,000. Dutch goalkeeper joined Rangers in 2004 from Manchester City.
Neil Mccann £500,000. Winger joined from Hearts in 1998 for £2million.

---------

The bit in red is interesting, no matter what others say. HMRC have agreed to what the Supreme court outlined.

 

[DavieM]

So HMRC had to drop these penalties in thousands of EBT cases - not just us. You wonder what "other" carnage this has caused for those companies and individuals that had this hanging over them.

You also wonder if they were breaking the law in trying to pursue something for so long that has ultimately been proven they shouldn't have been chasing.

 

[Gio#56]

So HMRC had to drop these penalties in thousands of EBT cases - not just us. You wonder what "other" carnage this has caused for those companies and individuals that had this hanging over them.

You also wonder if they were breaking the law in trying to pursue something for so long that has ultimately been proven they shouldn't have been chasing.

They were wrong to apply such massive penaltys.

- So legally should they have hiked the tax bill by near £50m when a no deal was given to Murray? And legally should they have blocked a CVA with figures that were £50 m out?

Then theres the attraction to potential buyers of oldco who were told about taxes due which were wrong due to penaltys being added when they should not have. This is what lawyers of the oldco companys creditors will be asking.

 

[DavieM]

They were wrong to apply such massive penaltys.

- So legally should they have hiked the tax bill by near £50m when a no deal was given to Murray? And legally should they have blocked a CVA with figures that were £50 m out?

Then theres the attraction to potential buyers of oldco who were told about taxes due which were wrong due to penaltys being added when they should not have. This is what lawyers of the oldco companys creditors will be asking.

Yep but my point is that people are under the (false) impression they made this error ONLY in our case - the EBT error was in fact much more wide-spread and HMRC actively pursued money they weren't entitled to in thousands of other EBT cases.

 

[artificialintoleranz]

Truly sickening. When I first got wind of the news I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Now it’s sunk in I now know.
To say I’m angry is an understatement to say the least, just thinking about all the nonentities calling for titles and oblivion.

I didn't comment much on this yesterday and i probably wont going forward but that is how i am feeling.

Read it all yesterday morning with disbelief but by the time my misses got in yesterday evening was raging.

This is an absolute disgrace. This has been an orchestrated attack built on lies (honest mistake? aye right!) to a huge, world famous actually, sporting institution.

Rangers is something that Scottish people should be proud of whether they are football fans or not. How many things has Scotland produced that has the same world wide reach? Not many.

But in typical Scottish fashion where jealousy, bitterness and hate will nearly always prevail over pride we have managed to almost kill it off and that is going to end up being ok. Sadly i would be willing to put my shirt on not a single person getting so much as a slap on the wrist for this episode. There just wont be the will to pursue it by those who have the authority to do so.

Absolutely tragic.

 

[Tibs46]

So HMRC had to drop these penalties in thousands of EBT cases - not just us. You wonder what "other" carnage this has caused for those companies and individuals that had this hanging over them.

You also wonder if they were breaking the law in trying to pursue something for so long that has ultimately been proven they shouldn't have been chasing.

An independent review of HMRC’s conduct in to the loan charge (EBTs) has started, clutching at straws but it could be related to that.

 

[High Society]

Barry was one of a number who filed for bankruptcy as a result, I believe.

surely one of our ex players could display any letter publicly?

 

[Forth Bear]

mentally challengeds in high places will always be for the watching.

All mentally challengeds are for the watching.

They are vermin.

 

[Coisty09]

surely one of our ex players could display any letter publicly?

Good point. I would be surprised if an anonymised version did not appear online soon.
For certain individuals there might be other legal matters in the text that mean It s not so simple.

 

[Gibbonbear]

So HMRC had to drop these penalties in thousands of EBT cases - not just us. You wonder what "other" carnage this has caused for those companies and individuals that had this hanging over them.

You also wonder if they were breaking the law in trying to pursue something for so long that has ultimately been proven they shouldn't have been chasing.

In terms of carnage that this has brought about I am sure that I read in one of the attachments that there were seven suicides linked to the HMRC pursuit of EBTs (although not Rangers related ).
It makes me wonder how a scheme such as EBTs could be running for such a length of time before HMRC decided that they were illegal for it's not as if Rangers kept them hidden as they were always in the annual statement , this indicates a degree of incompetence on the part of HMRC for if it had been made clear from the start that these schemes were illegal Rangers and the other clubs and companies would have refrained from using them and we would never have heard of Craig Whyte ,Charles Green and people like Ashley would never have got near Ibrox

 

[Beege]

To think the stress Fernando Ricksen went through regarding this, he voiced his concerns and how it was affecting him whilst battling that cruel disease.

RIP Fernado, it was all for nothing.

HMRC need to be taken to account. His last years should not have been hampered by their negligence to do their jobs properly.

They chased him for £342,000 whilst his family had used up monies to support his illness.

I believe his first wife was withholding money from his present wife in case she had to pay it back to HMRC. No excuse now not to pay it to Fernando's widow and child now.

 

[Gio#56]

I believe his first wife was withholding money from his present wife in case she had to pay it back to HMRC. No excuse now not to pay it to Fernando's widow and child now.

I remember reading the poor man had a lot of anxiety and distress during this time regarding this ebt payment he was invoiced for. Something it turns out was grossly exaggerated. He did not deserve to have this on his mind whilst battling that cruel disease. Shame on HMRC. Fernando needed the money for his care, not now.

 

[Lenzie Loyal]

RECORD BREAKERS Rangers tax case: HMRC say Daily Record claim of ex-players’ £70m EBT cut is ‘not true’

HMRC has hit out at a story saying they had agreed to wipe £70million owed on EBTs by former Rangers stars.

The Daily Record said a "huge cast of Ibrox old boys" had been told their total payments had been cut from almost £100m down to around £24m.

HMRC rubbish Daily Record story claiming ex-Gers stars' EBT bill cut by £70m

HMRC has hit out at a story saying they had agreed to wipe £70million owed on EBTs by former Rangers stars. The Daily Record said a “huge cast of Ibrox old boys” had been told their tot…

www.thescottishsun.co.uk

 

[Mexi]

RECORD BREAKERS Rangers tax case: HMRC say Daily Record claim of ex-players’ £70m EBT cut is ‘not true’

HMRC rubbish Daily Record story claiming ex-Gers stars' EBT bill cut by £70m

HMRC has hit out at a story saying they had agreed to wipe £70million owed on EBTs by former Rangers stars. The Daily Record said a “huge cast of Ibrox old boys” had been told their tot…

www.thescottishsun.co.uk

Are they choosing to comment on individual cases, or giving interviews to the media? Traynor could be useful if it's the latter

 

[Virgil Hilts]

Dave Hartnett - Vodafone - lunch