Newco down to HMRC incompetence - Craig Whyte

[simplythebest 0]

Former owner Craig Whyte believes Rangers would have survived if the tax authorities had agreed to do a deal with him when he took over at Ibrox.

 

On Tuesday, the former club won an appeal against a tax bill over its use of Employee Benefit Trusts.

 

And Whyte claims HM Revenue and Customs behaved like they wanted to put the club out of business.

 

"It would've been completely different if they had agreed a deal," he said. "They just weren't interested."

 

Whyte took over at Rangers in May 2011, buying the club from Sir David Murray for £1, while the tax liability was in dispute.

 

However, in February, the Ibrox club were forced into administration by HMRC over the Whyte regime's non-payment of tax totalling about £14m.

 

"As soon as I took over, I approached them with a payment package that assumed we would lose the big tax case," Whyte told BBC Scotland.

 

"But it was like they were determined to put the club down and make an example of us.

 

"As my time in charge continued, I again approached them and offered a deal that would have incorporated the PAYE and the big tax case but again they refused."

 

With Whyte handing over his controlling interest in Rangers to a consortium led by Charles Green in May, HMRC subsequently rejected proposals for a creditors agreement, that would have paid back nine pence in the pound in a best-case scenario, and allowed the old club to continue.

 

As Rangers were set for liquidation, administrators Duff and Phelps then negotiated a sale of assets to Green's group for £5.5m.

 

Green and his associates were able to form a new club, now playing in the Third Division, after an application to join the Scottish Premier League was rejected.

 

"The fact that there is now a newco Rangers is down to their (HMRC) incompetence," added Whyte.

 

Last month, in a BBC interview, Whyte asserted that Murray and the old board of directors were to blame for the demise of the club, describing the use of the EBT scheme as "ruinous".

 

He said he was only "driving the train when it crashed" and did not set it on its path.

 

Green recently said Whyte aims to sue for money he believes he is entitled to for agreeing to transfer his shares, which ultimately were not needed for the formation of a new club.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20439036

[foggy dewhurst 0]

i for one dont believe a single thing this man says the sooner he's in prison the better

[the gunslinger 3,366]

and where was he getting the money from the lying cunt. he's the reason we were liquidated.

[EDGE 0]

Both he and Murray are the reason that the Company was liquidated.

 

As soon as Murray sold to the Shyster, who's business plan was akin to a game of Russian Roulette, we were fucked.

[BlueMazza 0]

Suits him to say that and yes there is an element of truth to it BUT he folded out the game and he pissed HMRC off by not paying tax/ni whilst in charge and we already had the BTC against us. What did he expect?

[der Berliner 3,267]

I think Whyte said very early on the HMRC declined any offers he made. If he can prove them and HMRC are done for this, fine. That makes his deeds in not paying tax and PAYE no less criminal, but why should he and we let HMRC off the hook here?

 

Obviously, we were then done for "bringing the game into disrepute" on these non-payments of tax et al. I wonder what makes this any different from Hearts current "affairs" ... and deals with HMRC?

[calscot 0]

It seems obvious to me that the whole thing wouldn't have happened if HMRC hadn't pursued an obvious lose-lose strategy. Whyte is guilty for what he did but it was all in an attempt to survive the HMRC suicide bomb. They are the number one guilty party, Whyte is just a side show in comparison.

 

Besides, think about it, Whyte is just a single dodgy character who is out to swindle as much money as he can in his lifetime, HMRC are part of our government and should be an institution, that while they do a job we don't personally like, they should be a body that we can trust to do the right thing. Whyte is just a charlatan, but the acts of HMRC shake the foundations of our democracy.

 

It's like the difference between being mugged by some reprobate and being set up and falsely imprisoned by a corrupt police force who have it in for you.

[GovanAllan 0]

HMRC started the ball rolling with the witch hunt that dragged on and on, Whyte just finished the job for them.

[calscot 0]

It has to be remembered that HMRC threatened to appeal and appeal again if they lost. That would have put the club in the mire for years to come and be unable to trade properly or compete - and then there was a chance we could lose and have say £150m to pay as the penalties increase.

 

Whyte seemed to see the only way out as a CVA or liquidation - or the threat of those to persuade HMRC to deal. He then pursued that strategy and knew he'd have nothing to pay Ticketus - however the original payments to them meant we had no cash flow and so to keep the club going long enough for when we thought the tax case would be concluded he stopped paying tax.

 

There is also the point that if you're going to be put into administration or liquidation for owing £75m of tax - why not make it £100m? There was nothing really for him to lose.

 

The thing that made it all such a huge mess was the lateness of the verdict. If it had been earlier, HMRC would not have had such a huge claim and may have accepted a CVA which would put us virtually debt free with all our players but not relegated or given extra punishments. And Whyte would own a Rangers worth £30-40m for £1.

 

That seems to me to have been his best case scenario for his strategy.

 

If it had been earlier and we lost the case then liquidation would probably have followed and we'd be in the same position as now but our football enemies would be feeling totally justified.

[simplythebest 0]

There's no doubt Whyte didn't care about what happened but I still think he was a chancer rather than the whole idea of him aiming for liquidation. If HMRC had played ball I highly doubt he'd have gone down that route.