Dummies guide to EBT's
Even just a year ago the words employee, benefit and trust placed together meant little to Scottish football fans outwith a small clutch of obsessive internet bampots.
Today, EBT, is as widely known as SFA, SPL, UEFA and FIFA.
Taxation experts can be found on message boards, blogs, twitter, radio phone-in’s and even newspapers.
With the axe set to fall on the way that Rangers operated their EBT scheme for over a decade Charles Green has launched a fully fledged ‘they-did-it-too’ campaign through his most obedient cheerleaders.
They-did-it-too is a variation of ‘but what about them’ which amounts to denial rather than facing up to your own problems.
As David Murray and many others have repeatedly stated EBT’s were not illegal. How you operated them is what HMRC are interested in while the football authorities wish to know if they were included in player contracts.
Unfortunately for Rangers it’s a lose lose case. If they operated their EBT scheme correctly, making discretionary and bonus payments only then those payments couldn’t be listed in player contracts. If players were getting paid outwith their contracts it amounts to dual contracts as Lord Nimmo Smith is now investigating.
If the EBT payments were included in player contracts then they weren’t discretionary which is why HMRC are on the case.
Rather than look into how one individual was able to run the second largest institution in Scotland into liquidation it appears that an EBT to a player who spent less than a season at Celtic is the centre of attention.
Celtic inherited Juninho’s EBT when he arrived from Middlesbrough. Presumably all details were included in the copy of the contracts Celtic provided to the SFA and SPL.
With Brian Quinn on board rather than taking advise from Paul Baxendale-Walker this is the only instance recorded in Celtic’s annual audited accounts of an EBT being used by the club.
As the porn star and tax wizard Baxendale Walker declared to the BBC: ”The problem as we all know is how Rangers implemented the structure, how they drove the bus.
“But then again it’s only a problem if HMRC win. If HMRC don’t win, then hopefully you’re going to come back and say Paul, all the Rangers fans in this country want to thank you because you single-handedly saved Rangers FC £50m. You’re a hero.”
While Rangers fans point the finger at Celtic their new leader, Green, continues to forget promises made on an almost weekly basis.
Little is known of his backers, claims of three billionaire investors have fallen by the wayside along with Mike Ashley’s shareholding and a share issue to supporters.
Once the SPL and HMRC have delivered their EBT verdict the only likely outcome is that the blame will be shifted elsewhere with Celtic the likely target as the real villains of Ibrox slip off under the radar.
CLICK HERE for former SPL chief answers back at Green
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