I am genuinely surprised at the furore that my call into Clyde 1 Super Scoreboard about the Rangers tax case has caused in certain circles. I am a bit surprised at this because I said very little on air that was new.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cynMmAXFBuw
For the most part what I stated in my short call to Super Scoreboard had been in the public domain apropos Rangers outstanding tax case with HMRC back in May 2010.
The figures published by the News of the World (a piece I worked on as a freelancer) were as stated on Clyde.
I then published a fuller account of my interview with Martin Bain on this site.
As stated then on this site and in the News of the World the “core amount” of tax that HMRC claim they are owed by Rangers is £24 million.
Interest accrued at that point was £12million (the meter is still running on that, but that figure was accurate in May last year). The figure for the tax penalties being around £25 million. However penalties are negotiable. The core amount (the £36million) is not.
So the Tier One tax tribunal is debating whether or not RFC owe this £36 million circa.
It will resume again in May. It is scheduled to take three weeks to conclude its business. The three judges will then retire and consider their verdict.
The penalties will be decided in a further Tribunal.
This is a split that RFC have asked for and their request was granted.
Perhaps their reasoning is that should they lose the case on the core amount hey maybe able to finance that. That is merely my conjecture. Most companies get it all over with at once which reduces the hefty legal bills. Why do it this way with double the legal bills?
Essentially Rangers would have to find someone willing to lend them £36 million to pay HMRC.
Perhaps the brouhaha after my appearance on Clyde 1 Super Scoreboard was that these figures and the seriousness of the tax case faced by Rangers FC is slowly starting to sink in to people who, heretofore, have been in denial.
Finally let me record my thanks to the lads at Clyde 1 Super Scoreboard for taking the call.
The most important asset of any football club are the supporters. This is as true for Rangers FC as it is for any football club.
The supporters put their hopes,dreams, passion and disposable income into the club.
The people that own and run football clubs should be mindful of that and,at all times, level with the fans.
