Rangers' lengthy 'Big Tax' case has been brought to a close after the HMRC agreed to a £56 million settlement.
The agreement means the 11 year legal battle regarding the oldco's finances has now come to an end.
A vast majority of the cash overdue is related to the controversial employee benefit trusts (EBT) scheme, which saw players and staff receiving payments. Around £48million was dished to a variety of employees, including club icons Craig Moore, Lorenzo Amoruso, Kris Boyd, Barry Ferguson, Graeme Souness, Alex Mcleish and Fernando Ricksen, reports the Daily Record.
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Among those who gained from the scheme were Sir David Murray, Stefan Klos, Marvin Andrews, Nacho Novo, Ronald de Boer, Steven Davis, Thomas Buffel, Zurab Khizanishvili and Tore Andre Flo.
The value of the claim, £64,514,000, was revealed in a letter from BDO, dated Wednesday, December 7, 2022, and signed by liquidators James B Stephen and Malcolm Cohen.
But it says an arrangement to pay £56million has been reached.
It adds: "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."
The report stated that the "Craig Whyte era" resulted in more than £10million being owed last year.
This cash relates to the non-payment of PAYE and VAT while he was in charge at Ibrox, after buying the club for £1 from Sir David Murray.
The club's operating company, RFC 2012 P.L.C, which was formerly The Rangers Football Club P.L.C, was liquidated in October 2012 after entering administration in February of that year.
HMRC claimed they were owed £94.4million in 2012 as part of the club's total debts which amounted to £168.8million.
The settlement agreed means Rangers will pay £38million less than the HMRC originally claimed was owed.
An HMRC spokesperson said: "The Supreme Court ruled in HMRC’s favour in the case against Rangers’ tax avoidance scheme. We are pleased to have reached a settlement with the liquidators to recover the money due as a result of this judgment."
In 2015, the Record revealed the list of players and staff who had benefited from the EBT scheme - and how much each person was paid.
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