As a piece of spin, this was very successful.
It was immediately seized upon by the target audience as the opposite of fake news.
Then again the Ibrox klanbase don’t do analysis.
The substance of this “exclusive” was known in June of this year.
You can read it in full here from BDO.
Essentially a very large unpayable bill has been reduced to a large unpayable bill.
The Times squirrel might work on you if you are not aware of the history of the EBT case.
For the uninitiated, the HMRC investigation into Rangers started in in 2004.
However, the assessment of the monies owed didn’t land until 2008.
These could either have been paid or, as was the case in this instance, be appealed to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT).
The Murray Group (MG) requested that only the core amount (£24m) and not the penalties be adjudicated on at the FTT.
This means that the penalties would, if Hector won, have to have an entirely separate tribunal case for the penalties.
That is what has been dropped by HMRC.
There is no point in chasing a liquidated club for monies that will never be collected.
The reason for delay, as stated in the FTT in 2012 was the obstructive behaviour of senior employees at Rangers and the MG.
This finding was never challenged.
The EBT case ran all the way to the UK Supreme Court in July 2017.
Everything about the behaviour of RFC/MG apropos the use of EBTs smacked of a covert operation.
The indemnifying side letters that were concealed from the SFA leading to the wonderful euphuism that the players were “imperfectly registered”.
Essentially, senior people at RFC behaved in a way that they KNEW they were breaking the rules.
Even when they were hip deep in skulduggery they could have extricated themselves by paying Hector.
HMRC was told in 2004 that side letters did not exist.
They only found out the truth after the raid on Ibrox by City of London Police in 2007 investigating the transfer of Jean-Alain Boumsong.
After that, HMRC knew they were onto something.
However, even then it was not too late to behave properly.
The amounts due started arriving in Feb 2008. In August 2008 they traded players as in selling 2 and buying 7. Had they not bought to satisfy The Blessed Walter then they could have settled the bill much earlier.
In the summer of season 2008, Rangers spent £17.4m on strengthening the squad.
They also brought in £10.8 on player sales.
Add up those two figures and that would amount to a whole lot of goodwill with Hector.
Let me put it in terms that the Ibrox klanbase might grasp, Rangers died because Rangers lied.
Of course, what finally pushed the original Rangers over the edge into insolvency was the decision of the Suave Billionaire to withhold PAYE.
HMRC realised that they were dealing with a delinquent organisation and pulled the plug.
The rest, like Rangers, is history.
I find it rather amusing that this squirrel on the death of the original club was launched on the day when Sevco are in court with a company that provides services to the dead.
I’m sure that is merely a coincidence…
The real question is why this squirrel was released today.
Like most things in life, timing is everything.
That may become apparent in the coming period.
However, for the avoidance of doubt, Rangers are still dead.
Moreover, no amount of succulent revisionism aimed at the Ibrox klanbase to deflect them from the crisis at Sevco will change that.
Have a great day.
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Not sure if you allow this but I feel it is only right that we dedicate this tune to the bad companies both holding and withholding 👍🏼
https://youtu.be/ww5GXbk58R0
It’s difficult to fathom the mind set of the Rangers support.
Someone feeds them a line that the tax man did for them and off they go, conspirancies a plenty.
Can’t they see from their annual financial results that new club losses are heading for £50m since birth and that this is not substainable.
With Kent and others added to the payroll, improved contracts ten a penny, Close Bros loans, and a significant bill on the way from Sports Direct the operation is under immense pressure to continue to function.
Last financial year losses were running at £1m a month, the current year monthly losses must be running at an even higher level, without taking into account the SD coming hit.
Reducing the squad numbers in January is hardly going to make a dent in the losses.
Only the sale of Morelos will keep the show on the road no matter what Gerrard says.
I heard Jim White on Talksport this morning trotting out the party line that it all went wrong because of Craig Whyte with not a mention of the real culprit, David Murray, who somehow has held onto his SIR moniker despite being wholly responsible for the non payment of tens of millions of taxes to HMRC and the cheating and lying to the taxman and the SFA about the side letters issued to most of the participants which all involved knew the consequences of.
The gullibies are looking for a public enquiry , I would like a public enquiry too …could you please tell us why they are still called by their previous name , they have been liquidated, no way back , deceased , R.I.P. Rangers , now what’s it to be Sevco or what ?
Can’t use the name of the previous incarnation , fact !
Now that it has been proved without a shadow of doubt that a HMRC tax miscalculation was solely responsible for the liquidation of RFC we now need confirmation that the club/company did not operate an illegal tax avoidance scheme over an 11 year period, that they always paid the correct tax due on time, that they did not issue side letters to the recipients of the fictitious tax avoidance scheme and that they paid all their debts in full and on time including that to the face painter. That should clear up those scurrilous rumours!
Given that Huns2 may soon be consigned to the great dustbin of history, I consider it entirely appropriate that any stadium that Huns 3 play in should be named after a famous ‘sporting’ cheat. I’d like to start the ball rolling by suggesting that Ibrox-if it’s not a car park post Big Mike-be renamed the ‘Lance Armstrong Stadium’ Any thoughts fellow Tims? Hail Hail.
Either that or the Ben Johnson Bowl.
How about the LESTER PIGGOTT PIGSTY? Mind you, the EBT ARENA has a nice ring to it! 😉
‘The Bernard Madoff Arena’
And
‘The Murray Park’ training centre
The Russian Athletics Municipal Pishtest Stadium
Or the TRAMP Stadium for short 👍🏼
The Asterisk Arsehole of an Arena
Sounds like they want to make clear they can ‘manage’ a big new debt…..perhaps they are due a big chunk of VAT to HMRC on season ticket sales – perhaps why the latest round of confetti share selling……
Been saying for a while! I completely agree, the regularity of PR “there’s been an agenda” is gathering momentum. Uefa and how “they class racism” ” the BBC “biased to the core” ” the sfa” “…. I think they are preparing the Klan2 for Admin 2….. the upshot will be that HMRC, will not let them off the hook so easily this time as the RIFC have previous now, as I am sure they will be one of the first in line to ensure they are not getting another penny on the pound situation. ( THEY HAD TO PAY EBTS the time because they couldn’t afford the cashflow hit over the tax)
I actually think it is KingCo, getting HIS excuses ready, I did what could etc, but it was the previous guys, hmrc lied, I bankrolled the new man with 3 teams and took the risk, to stop it being 10 or 11….. and I did it with great personal loss, (cold shouldered). My children’s inheritance, as they wanted me to buy Liverpool LOL. Deflect, Deny and Lie the Rangers Way.
Memorial Walls, Close Brothers, Big Mike, Elite, Hummel, HMRC, PAYE, No Bank Facility,Shares that are worthless, An Ego in the dugout. demanding more, and no sales(as yet) on the family jewels…….. be interesting to see what is being paid in PR because that list is growing by the month.
I would bet a pound that Hector may be circling the tribute act and this is a misguided
attempt to flush the troops hiding in the shipyards out, to rally them against incoming queries from Hector.
This is, indeed, a squirrel! Recipients of these EBT’s had until 5th April 2019 to repay tax owing on these earnings (let’s not forget that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of HMRC that these were classed as EARNINGS), although some beneficiaries were either unable (Barry Ferguson filing for bankruptcy, for example) or unwilling (it was the CLUB’S responsibility to pay the tax on these. *Note, carefully, the use of the word “club” here. This is the actual wording used by some of those refusing to face up to their fiscal responsibilities!) to pay this money back.
Now – let us, for a moment, accept that these players are innocent of depriving HM Treasury of revenues – it would be unfair to penalise them, as well as demanding repayment. Could it be that what HMRC have actually done is to waive the penalty fees, thus reducing their tax liabilities? By that, I mean that instead of a tax demand of, for example, £3 million (the breakdown being £2 million tax / £1 million penalty), HMRC are now only seeking repayment of £2 million?
The bottom line is – rangers already admitted liability in respect of tax owing, in reference to the Wee Tax Case. HMRC won their case in the Supreme Court in respect of these payments being classed as remuneration for “work” being conducted as part of the business in what is commonly referred to as the Big Tax Case. Repay what you owe. Your sense of entitlement killed your club. DEAL WITH IT!!
The poor state of Scottish ‘journalism’ continues whenever this story is resurrected .
The BBC’s Business Editor ( Douglas Fraser ) while discussing this ‘story’ ( fairy tale ? ) stated that ”Rangers were liquidated then moved to the bottom tier of Scottish Football .”
Now I am no journalist nor expert in the law , but I do know what ”liquidated” means . So how can something which is dead as a Norwegian Blue Parrot possibly be moved anywhere – except to a crypt ?
Do these people have no sense of shame – or embarrassment ? ( Rhetorical question ! )
As Cyan O’Bacteria so rightly quotes, “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored”, so facts also do not cease to exist because they are misrepresented. Facts are facts are facts. There are NO alternative facts.
Such a coordinated media onslaught of fact twisting, distortion and revising actually shows the depth and reach of their tentacles in Scotland. The bears of course are lapping it up. To the hard of thinking it is the ultimate PROOF that the Vatican controlled world has conspired against them.
The reality is, as Phil so succinctly put it, Rangers died because they lied.
The timing of this particular piece of fiction is the most intriguing aspect from my point of view. Are they circling the wagons before another admin event? Instigating a siege mentality before the Siege starts? Attempting to claim some kind of moral high ground?
If it’s the latter, good! Because the moral high ground can be a very exposed position.
Whatever, there is no point in us taxing our minds, (get that? TAXING?…………aw fuck never mind) but I’m beginning to wonder if the situation across the city is even worse than we all believe. Could it be that failure to capture the League Cup might see them in admin before Santa arrives? Could it even happen BEFORE the final? Such is their twisted logic they would then claim we only won it because WE orchestrated their downfall, AGAIN. this is going to run, and whatever the outcome I think we’ll be the guys smiling when it’s over
The Huxley quote is one I tend to trot out when it becomes apparent that the truth is being either blatantly ignored or air brushed out of existence.
It is as relevant today as the day he uttered those word.
Here are some very poignant words that sort of encapsulate the entire problem with the Ibrox debacle:
Daily Rangord ,13 June 2012
“Rangers FC as we know them are dead. It’s all over. They are about to shut down for ever…They’ll slip into liquidation within the next couple of weeks with a new company emerging but 140 years of history, triumph and tears, will have ended… No matter how Charles Green attempts to dress it up, a newco equals a new club. When the CVA was thrown out Rangers as we know them died.” -James Traynor
Level 5’s Chief Organ Grinder and the Daily Records former purveyor of Succulent pash soaked Mutton.
These ARE THE FACTS 👆🏼
The marketing men used to use the term, “it’s not the sausage, it’s the sizzle that matters”….This is one instance where even Carlsberg (if they did bullshit) would have trouble competing with piece of intergalactic turd polishing. It’s funny how the numbers that have been as plain as the hole in Craig Whyte’s shoes was right in their face and they didn’t bother? Was it the sizzle that was all wrong and they weren’t the victim in any pesky factual narrative? I wonder.
I hope they publicly pursue some form of “compensation”. You should have heard the pontificating and surmising from colleagues at work today whom I previously thought were moderately clever for Scottish Sevconians.
The “you are on to plums as you are a new club” rebuttal will hurt them, besides that fact that this is steaming pile of rhino dung.
HMRC reduce claim by however million does not escape the fact that they were consigned to the grave regardless.
How thick are these idiots? I understand the desperation and lashing out, they lost their club. I understand their anger and confusion because they know deep down that they are watching the remorseless ghost of the previous cheats and still have no shame.
It’s a tragic endictment of this country and the majority inhabitants that believe this crock. The media have nurtured, controlled and manipulated the narrative so well that these poor fools, including the writers of the newspapers articles, actually believe their own lies.
The Sevco fans, like their Dead Cheats FC fans before them, are being conned and cheated by their own club/company (holding company! I mean seriously! Fuck off you shower of fucking revisionist desperate idiots!) and they can’t even see it. They are blinded by hate.
It is to the eternal shame that this country had a chance to cleanse itself of these dangerous clowns, it didn’t and the new lot are worse than their spiritual predecessors.
Bravo!! Spot on 👌🏻
🎵Up their knees in EBT’s,
They squandered and they died,
They WERE
The Ayebroke BILLY BOYS!!🎵
As someone used to post, “Ah’ll get ma coat!!”
I’ve been reading some of their blogs. They are so angry and aggrieved that HMRC shut them down they are calling for public inquiries and to sue the tax man. Its fecking hilarious. Its hunnado on social media .
Twice a week on grandfather duties, I have to find somewhere to wait out two hours before the “pick up”. This is usually done in an up market supermarket, if you will, where both the Times and the Telegraph are readily and freely available in the cafe. While struggling with “10 across” or whatever, I sometimes glance at the the back pages and have found that they regurgitate what is written in the Daily Ranger and verbatim at that, so today’s article comes as no surprise. This has, in the recent past, included Dave King’s pronouncements as fact. I just put it down to a pro “loyal”, ant- Irish thing. The days when it earned the sobriquet “The Thunderer” are long gone.
A deliberate and cynical article designed to gain attention for another struggling ‘title’ by appealing to a very ‘particular demographic’ and their need for revenge.
To be fair to Wee Craig, he couldn’t stump up PAYE because wee Coisty got pumped out of Europe and the cash flows to keep it trundling along dissolved.
Graig bought a club that commercially depended on McCoist being successful in Europe to stay alive.
It’s no wonder Super Ally is jumping on the HMRC to blame squirrel. He needs a patsy.
He needsh a patshy’
Fixed that for you bud 👍🏼
Surely, pasty.
No defo patshy and don’t call me Shirley
You’re OUTED!!! You’re really Sean Connery!!!
Up to their knees in EBT’s. Great article and fantastic newspaper story, I look forward to seeing this info play out on the perma-rage blogs. Grown men frothing at the mouth on how Lizzy and her cronies did this to the bastion of Britishness…
Having a coffee in local cafe this morning and read the earth-shattering squirrel in the Daily Ranger (complimenary copy – I wouldn’t buy this trash EVER). Absolute shite, which will be enough to convince the easily convinced to believe that it was all HMRC’s fault – dopes indeed. Yeah, Phil – they died bacause they lied !
Don’t read it.
Don’t buy it.
As the saying goes…
TODAY’S SCOTTISH NEWSPAPER IS TOMORROW’S TOILET PAPER.
Correction!
Today’s Scottish newspaper is YESTERDAY’S toilet paper. You can smell it as you pass it by.
As the debt mounts for new club sevco… To the tune of 30 million pounds… Spin a. Story to take heat of as per usual
It is now official – because it is on the front page of The Times – that the company that ran Rangers did nothing wrong. It was Hector’s fault. Thank you Greig Cameron for your insightful and investigative journalism and I am sure I speak for all 29,000 of your readers as well.
It was all down to a ‘blunder’ by HMRC who have now admitted it despite not issuing an official response to Mr Cameron (surely a candidate for journalist of the year) or his employers (who must be so proud).
Mr Cameron’s article has got to be the most alarming example of Orwellian Newspeak to adorn the front page of a so-called quality newspaper.
We are talking about a football club – not a holding company – who cheated the system for years by instigating a tax wheeze which they ‘thought’ might be legal but they knowingly withheld information about it from the governing body which they knew was against the rules. They were up to their heads so deep they couldn’t even afford to pay a face painter.
‘Heads must roll’ will be the mantra of many of a blue persuasion and rightly so. I think perhaps Mr Cameron’s should be the first, followed by that of his editor, Magnus Llewellen. They are a disgrace to journalism.
It saddens me that I have come to expect it from fanzines like The Record, The Sun and The Herald but I did expect better from The Times.
Silly old me!
HMRC have actually issued a response – their official Twitter feed was at pains to point out they had made no mistake in their calculations.
Excellent forensic report Phil…even an old codger like me understood the facts…Thank you.
As for everything else that has gone on…Shameful and unacceptable.
I still maintain that the biggest disgrace was when the former leader of Scottish Football (Regan) sent an e-mail to Sevco for their approval…that was bad enough.
But when he was told to bin it…they would do their own…well that defies description.
I’ve said it before …and I’ll say it again…
Our Club should hang its head in shame…its silence on these matters is unacceptable.
I can only hope that Auldheid and his cronies bring this to a successful conclusion.
Good luck wi’ that.
Well, if we had any lingering hopes that the ‘quality’ papers still had some value… 🙁
Up until about 10 years ago – and despite being a Murdoch rag – I did gravitate to The Times as my daily read. Best of a bad bunch?
The fact that The Times Scotland has obediently run with such an untruthful article indicates its desperation?
It’s such a blatantly shocking PR piece – it might accelerate the paper’s demise.
Long live the Internet Bampots! 🙂
Read the stupid article by Michael Grant in the inside of the paper, what utter garbage he writes!
The SFA ignoring the side letter with their comment Imperfectly registered, shows how corrupt this organisation is. The simple fact is they cheated EVERY club in Scotland ( and beyond ) by playing players they could not afford. WHY the club have allowed the same club myth to continue is beyond my knowledge.
Clubs went bust trying to compete in a fixed league, add to this the stadium seating for clubs that could hardly stay afloat anyway shows how out of touch these clowns are.
Time for a clear out. The club elect new leaders every four years, a new national stadium in the central belt with built in HQ. Remove the west coast influence and maybe just maybe we could have a level( 5 ) playing field.
This squirrel doesn’t detract from the fact Sevco are up to their knees ( probably even higher ) in debt.
As mic drops go @Phil, even by your high standard this left a hole in the floor!
Deja Vu, with Trading players knowing the debt could haven should have been cleared….. The Esteemed Ego, appears to only be invested in buying….wonder what happened last time?
What is the well worn phrase….You can fool…. RIFC supporters all of the time. The Celtic Boardroom must be roaring with laughter on that international break story.
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored “ Aldous Huxley