Mr Green And The Taxman

... if you know your history...

Dated: 16/01/2013

cc David Cameron, Alex Salmand, Kenny MacAskill, Ramsay Jones


"On February 14th 2012, the then Rangers FC plc went into administration through failure to pay HMRC outstanding substantial amounts of PAYE and VAT. In addition, the Club's historic use of EBTs was the subject of a First Tier Tax Tribunal which convened the previous year and had yet to return its decision.

"I led a consortium which wished to purchase the Club, preferably through a CVA with creditors. Our rationale for this was that the football club business would be able to retain its place in the SPL... As a failsafe, my consortium struck agreement with the administrators that we would purchase the business and assets of the Club, should a CVA be rejected by the creditors. This would, however, require the liquidation of Rangers FC Ltd (oldco) as it was and the formation of a new company.

"On June 11th 2012, HMRC announced it would not support a CVA, which rendered that process redundant. In its public statement HMRC said the decision would give Rangers 'a fresh start'.

"Since then, the Club has begun the very long road to recovery under the auspices of a new company. On November 20th, the First Tier Tax Tribunal found in Rangers (oldco) favour and the spectre of what became known as the 'big tax case' was ostensibly removed.

"However, the announcement by HMRC that it had sought leave to appeal the First Tier Tax Tribunal's decision has, once again, placed the Club in an invidious position.

"... the situation has been aggravated  by the SPL's decision to press on with a Commission into the payments by Rangers to players through EBTs, even though the First Tier Tax Tribunal found that the payments were non-contractual and discretionary.

"It seems desperately unfair that the football club, and the wider football community which have already suffered as a result of Rangers' insolvency, should continue to suffer as we try to rebuild our Club and make a contribution to Scottish football that is vital to its survival.

"... I would ask that careful consideration is given to the potential impact of a drawn out appeal should one proceed... The fact of the matter is that Rangers and its supporters are major contributors to the football and wider economy, and it would be to the benefit of businesses throughout Scottish football that this matter is resolved as soon as possible."

© Football is Fixed 2006-2015

The Sevco Seven

Its going to take more than a 5 Way Agreement to resolve this. But a 10 Way Agreement with 'institutional' support? Don't bet against it.

— FOOTBALL is FIXED (@footballisfixed) September 5, 2015

Forgive the question but does the shift to Edinburgh mean a cover-up (of the Establishment variety) is more likely? https://t.co/f6tvKUQDFO

— FOOTBALL is FIXED (@footballisfixed) October 9, 2015

I have to agree with a few comments seen on here, there is a Masonic deal playing itself out in Edinburgh. The real crook has zero charges.

— TraceAgent (@TracingAgent) October 16, 2015

So October 16th came and went...

Craig Whyte turned up to court looking very confident with a beautiful woman on one hand and 100,000 hours worth of recorded shenanigans in the other.

More intriguingly, Crown Office lawyers have temporarily stopped proceedings against Imran Ahmad for "reasons that cannot be disclosed".
This is the same Mr Ahmad who on September 14th stated "I firmly believe Police Scotland have their own agenda and are deeply emotionally connected to Rangers Football Club. In my view Police Scotland have a clear conflict of interest" http://footballisfixed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/fakes.html

Meanwhile Gary Withey of Collyer Bristow solicitors was also excused from attending court and wasn't present at the hearing.

Sevco Seven, Six, Five...

When dealing with systemic affairs, the micro-focus on minutiae rarely yields truths as the wrecking ball of institutional power obliterates clauses in the defence of causes.
Celtic fans want an outcome of judicial integrity which is unlikely to be the case. 

Furthermore, from meetings involving the upper Celtic hierarchy and from media posturings by the same individuals, it is the assessment of our wee cellular grouping that Mr Desmond and Mr Lawwell would appreciate a future return of a strong Rangers as such a return will make these rich men even richer than they already are.
Sod justice.
Sod the wishes of the fans.

Much of what is now sub judice (plus a whole lot more - implicating individuals higher up the food chain) would have been in the mainstream media in April if Celtic's tentacles could have created a strategy.

We were approached by Pat McVey (#Auldheid) to launch a media storm on the issues of SFA/Rangers alleged collusion to defraud HMRC and, potentially, UEFA.
We reached preliminary arrangements with both BBC and Channel 4 for the release of this knowledge when Mr McVey informed us that we couldn't offer exclusivity to either (or any other) party.
On communicating with Paul Brennan of CQN on this matter, he strongly disagreed with McVey writing: "The exclusivity deal will be important to journos, I've known them to back away if they think too many people have the same story at the same time."

We have to conclude that, for some private or top-down reason, McVey did not want the reality in the public sphere in some perverse expression of Scottish Stockholm Syndrome.

Dermot Desmond sees Celtic and Rangers in the English Premier League within the decade which, with the deconstruction of Platini's UEFA and the corresponding mothballing of any pretensions to a European Super League, will very likely be the case.

© Football is Fixed 2006-2015