SPL Announcement This Afternoon!

[Cadman 342]

from what i'm lead to believe the EBT scheme wasn't (and isn't) an illegal practice and companies used them as a loophole to pay their executives and upper management (you could probably put your mortgage on banks using them regularly) - HMRC have realised how much it costs them in tax payments and want to get them stopped. What would be interesting to find out is how many other football clubs in the UK are being pursued by HMRC for the use of EBT's - is it ONLY Rangers at this moment in time and, if so, why?. Rangers could argue that they are being used as a scapegoat and are getting hamstrung as a means of deterrent to other clubs - something like the HMRC saying "right you lot - look at Rangers FC, that is what will happen to you if don't stop using EBT's" rather than saying "this is what's going to happen to you if we find out you've been using EBT's". I also wonder if the mhanky mob have been using them when you think of what sort of wage the likes of Larsson, Hartson, Sutton, Hessilink, Di Canio even Lennon and latterly the likes of Keane, Bellamy, Lundberg were earning - especially when they list club profits of 180k.

[Non_Sucumbi 876]

from what i'm lead to believe the EBT scheme wasn't (and isn't) an illegal practice and companies used them as a loophole to pay their executives and upper management (you could probably put your mortgage on banks using them regularly) - HMRC have realised how much it costs them in tax payments and want to get them stopped. What would be interesting to find out is how many other football clubs in the UK are being pursued by HMRC for the use of EBT's - is it ONLY Rangers at this moment in time and, if so, why?. Rangers could argue that they are being used as a scapegoat and are getting hamstrung as a means of deterrent to other clubs - something like the HMRC saying "right you lot - look at Rangers FC, that is what will happen to you if don't stop using EBT's" rather than saying "this is what's going to happen to you if we find out you've been using EBT's". I also wonder if the mhanky mob have been using them when you think of what sort of wage the likes of Larsson, Hartson, Sutton, Hessilink, Di Canio even Lennon and latterly the likes of Keane, Bellamy, Lundberg were earning - especially when they list club profits of 180k.

HMRC came out and started to investigate the use if EBT's around 2008 when the media got wind of some high-profile players in England using them.

People using them were notified that EBT usage was being investigated by HMRC.

On 9th December 2010, the Government issued for Consultation draft legislation primarily focused on EBTs The objective of the legislation was to prevent the avoidance or deferral of income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on employment income.

In the finance Bill of 2011 legislation was introduced allowing the government to recoup money from these schemes

Murray was made aware about EBT's being 'dodgy' in 2008. If RFC continued using them after that date then they either received bad advice or were just plain stupid.

EBTs were basically set up as a tax-dodge. Not illegal, but operating at the edges of accepted financial practice.

I know a number of IT contractors who used these schemes and all stopped around 2010 when it was clear that they were then illegal. Many people had been using these and umbrella companies since the 1990's.

There appears to be three distinct periods where differing legislation may have applied.

pre-2008 where even according to HMRC these schemes were a grey-area.

2008-2010 HMRC started to shut them down

post 2011 100% illegal.

So when did Rangers start using them and for how long? Were they still used after 2008?

Will the period prior to 2008 be used by HMRC as a test case? If they win then thousands of people will be liable for tax.

I'm no financial expert and these are just my take on the matter don't beat me up too bad.