£56,000,000- HMRC finally settled The Rangers tax bill with BDO

BDO have reached agreement with HMRC that Rangers went into liquidation owing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth £56,000,000.

Years of tax scams and ‘disguised remuneration’ came to an end in June 2012 when Her Majesty rejected the offer of a CVA to send the club into liquidation.

Ally McCoist’s side had led the SPL by 15 points in November 2011, three months later they went into administration with their final match a 0-0 draw at St Johnstone in May 2012, a fortnight after their final defeat from Celtic, a 3-0 loss at the home of the champions.

When HMRC rejected the CVA a list of 276 creditors was drawn up including newsagents, florists, tax firms, Glasgow City Council, Police Scotland and a face painter.

In the latest Creditors Report from BDO dated 7 December they announced:

We are pleased to advise that since the last report, we continued extensive and collaborative discussions with HMRC to reach a negotiated resolution in relation to the remaining elements of the claim.

After significant input from BDO’s Tax Dispute Resolution team, together with our legal advisors, we were able to reach a composite settlement of £56m for the whole of the HMRC claim. Formal settlement documentation will ensure that HMRC will not raise any further claims in the liquidation.

The agreed settlement with HMRC reflects the outcome of the Supreme Court decision in 2017. This composite settlement represents an agreed reduction to HMRC’s initial submitted claim in the liquidation.

As a result, all other unsecured creditors should receive dividends totalling approximately 5.3p in the £ more than they would have otherwise received. It also negates the need for further protracted litigation which could have been costly to the liquidation estate.

The Joint Liquidators have been in consultation with the Committee and it was agreed that the composite settlement of £56m was a positive outcome for the creditors.

With the HMRC bill settled the final payout should soon be made to creditors to finally wind up the demise of a Glasgow football club.