The implications for Scottish football of the Supreme Court verdict on the Big Tax Case has gone mainstream with the first ever call for the Nimmo Smith Report to be binned and for Dave Murray to be stripped of his knighthood.
There are some strange anomalies in the article published by The National, such as the old club only benefiting from EBT’s since 2004 but it is a breakthrough to see a mainstream publication discussing a subject generally regarded as for bampots only.
The article even discusses the seriousness of the Takeover Appeal Board ruling for Dave King which was glossed over in last week’s pitch for season ticket money.
A two day appeal from BDO against HMRC over the big tax case was heard in the Supreme Court earlier this month after the tax scam used by Murray for over a decade had been judged illegal.
By paying stars like Barry Ferguson, Neil McCann, Nacho Novo, Alex Rae and Steven Thompson into offshore trusts Murray was able to bring in better players than his budget could afford with Her Majesty losing out.
That scam has now been exposed to a UK audience with The National admitting the sporting brutality of it’s use.
Today’s article explains: “Firstly, it must be acknowledged that Rangers gained a massive financial and thus competitive advantage they were not legally entitled to, certainly after 2004.
“The current ownership has already acknowledged that by eventually paying, with reluctance, the £250,000 fine imposed on it in 2013 by Lord Nimmo Smith’s Commission that investigated the EBT scheme and the ‘side letters’ which were blatantly against football rules.
“Secondly, that Nimmo Smith Commission must be recalled. The Commission acted “on the basis that the EBT arrangements were lawful”, in its own words, but if HMRC wins, they won’t be lawful.
“After the HMRC warning on EBTs in 2004 up to 2011, a heavily-indebted Rangers won four SPL titles, two Scottish Cups and four Scottish League Cups with players and staff they couldn’t otherwise have afforded.
“If the taxman wins, the Nimmo Smith Commission must think again and, yes, take those titles and cups away from Rangers’ history because the club cheated.
“Thirdly, for operating an unlawful tax scheme for years inside Rangers and other companies, Sir David Murray should be stripped of his honour.”
Every match that Rangers played featuring Ronald de Boer or Tore Andre Flo, signed in 2000 with no details of their payments into the Discounted Option Scheme declared to the SPL and SFA should be declared a 3-0 defeat.
From 2002 onwards players were being paid through EBT’s that weren’t declared in the contracts sent to the SFA.
Other clubs have been kicked out of cup competitions or had results changed to 0-3 defeats for minor regulation mistakes. Not Rangers.
Various supporter groups are ready to repeat the actions of 2012 to ensure that Nimmo Smith is revisited if the Supreme Court rejects the appeal against HMRC.
Nimmo Smith should have found Rangers guilty on account of not declaring payments to the football authorities but declared that no advantage had been gained since the scam was available to other clubs.
Once the scam is confirmed as illegal pressure will grow on the SFA and SPFL to apply the rules to the matches involving Rangers fielding players recruited on the promise of EBT payments.
