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