Court of Session rules in favour of HMRC + Rangers Issue Statement

[forlanssister 3,050]

Yeah, we know that a 'dignified silence' works, eh?

 

That's something that suited Murray and he simply didn't give a f*&k what it did to the club.

[der Berliner 3,234]

Sayest the Sun's backpage ...

 

[BrahimHemdani 1]

FWIW I was watching television earlier & a tax lawyer said this was the only EBT case HMRC had won. Interesting.

 

That may well be partly at least because a number settled out of court and many others will have been watching the progress of our case. That's evident from the HMRC statement.

 

A lot more will settle now.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

I have to say I totally disagree with what you posted there BH. Whether some good fairy continues to fund the fight against the proceedings remains to be seen but " it's time to move on " is just not going to happen. Not if you have followed general media and online coverage and comment since the announcement was made earlier today, it won't. The more militant obsessed bloggers have been pushing for the SPL and SFA hierarchy to be removed due to their granting us a licence since day one. Their behaviour today shows that moving on will be a one way thing for your good self and nobody else.

 

I am sure we gan agree to differ, Boabie, but I would submit I'm not alone on here, though clearly in a minority.

 

However, it would seem that I have already been proved correct in terms of the SPFL.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

No one likes us we don't care?

 

There is an online war going on, which imo we are losing, so I do care what others think.

 

I'm not sure I can explain my view on this too well, LG; but it's not so much, "No one likes us we don't care", I think the people who chant that do so for a different reason.

 

My point of view is that we should prove ourselves BETTER than THEM.

 

We should rise above the online and media tittle tattle and the demented folk who race to express their ignorance on the phone-ins and concentrate on some basic issues.

 

1) The EBT's were widely used at the time and 5,000 other companies (inc many other football clubs such as Celtic and Arsenal) used them, having taken appropriate advice that they were a valid means of tax avoidance, which has never been illegal. Minimising tax liablity was "not a breach of SPL Rules" (Nimmo Smith and see below)

 

2) Lord Nimmo Smith held ceteris paribus:

 

• "Rangers FC did not gain any unfair competitive advantage from the contraventions of the SPL Rules in failing to make proper disclosure of the side-letter arrangements"
  
• "Rangers were not judged to have gained any sporting advantage. None of the players were ineligible to play."
  
• "We are satisfied that the registration of the Specified Players with the SPL was valid from the outset, and accordingly that they were eligible to play in official matches." "This is an important finding, as it means that there was no instance shown of Rangers FC fielding an ineligible player. "
  

 

3) Everyone who is anyone in football and and every organisation that matters knows that Rangers Football Club are still Rangers Football Club and we will come out of this with the same trophies as we went in.

 

In fact, difficult as it has been, we will come out of it stronger for the journey we have taken, which WE will never forget; we need no others to remind us. I for one will not easily forget freezing my boll**** off in the snow at Peterhead and being half way to Aberdeen on the bus before my ears popped and hands thawed out enough to contemplate certain actions for which they are usually considered necessary.

 

Whether this judgement is appealed or not (and I can see no significant advantage in so doing), will not change any of the above.

 

That is why I think it's time to move on and concentrate on our rise back to the SPL and Europe in due course.

 

Throughout this period I've often drawn a parallel with Fiorentina, who went bankrupt in 2002 but who rose to meet us six seasons later in the UEFA Cup Semi Final of 2007/08 which was their first season back in Europe after starting again like us in the fourth tier of Italian football. They have played in Europe in 5 of the succeeding 8 seasons and currently sit top of Serie A.

 

I'm not suggesting that we will contest the latter stages of the Europa League in 2017/18; it would be nice to be in it and even nicer to get to the group stages.

 

Let's concentrate on the road forward however long and let others worry about how we got here.

Edited November 5, 2015 by BrahimHemdani
ceteris!

[barca72 440]

Let's concentrate on the road forward however long and let others worry about how we got here.

 

 

What's wrong with moving forward and at the same time challenging those who wish to harm us in various ways?

The Rangers' support have proven in the last four seasons that they can multi-task and still maintain huge loyalty to the club. 40K+ crowds for the most part testify to that.

[BrahimHemdani 1]

What's wrong with moving forward and at the same time challenging those who wish to harm us in various ways?

The Rangers' support have proven in the last four seasons that they can multi-task and still maintain huge loyalty to the club. 40K+ crowds for the most part testify to that.

 

Fair enough Barca but I would suggest that trying to argue the rights and wrongs of the tax case is a no win situation.

 

As I suggest in more detail above, if I could multi task, I would stick to the three basic points:

 

1. WE did nothing illegal
   
2. WE didn't gain any sporting or competitive advantage
   
3. WE are and always will be Rangers Football Club
   

and I'll add a fourth

 

"WE ARE THE PEOPLE"

 

A cry that was common in my youth but seems to have disappeared behind some of today's ditties.

Edited November 5, 2015 by BrahimHemdani

[RANGERRAB 3,254]

That may well be partly at least because a number settled out of court and many others will have been watching the progress of our case. That's evident from the HMRC statement.

 

A lot more will settle now.

 

Rather than settle I think they will want this to go to the Supreme Court to get this daft 'common sense' judgement over-turned

[Bluedell 5,329]

Rather than settle I think they will want this to go to the Supreme Court to get this daft 'common sense' judgement over-turned

 

Why is it daft?

[der Berliner 3,234]

Daft is probably not the right word, bizarre might be better. What leaves you wondering is that it took three tribunals (et al) ere someone thought of this "common sense" stance. It also leaves you wondering how it can overrule the decisions that actually tackle the loan/tax problem.