[edgie]

I'll play devil's advocate on this, more as education for me than any real argument!!!

At the time Rangers were using EBTs to sign players they could not normally afford, isn't it true that EBTs were not illegal??  I know there has been some debate about the grey area of tax law that they came under, but weren't they outlawed at a later date??  Looking beyond football and just talking tax laws and loop holes in general, isn't this just another tax loop hole that was subsequently closed after its use came to light??  And surely back in the football world, Rangers can't be the only team in Britain who employed this method to get the players they wanted??

Chuck

The EBTs them self's may or may not have been illegal, we will find out when the big tax case is finally sorted, later this summer apparently. The issue is that HMRC say they where disguised remuneration. particularly as Rangers sent our "side letters" making the payments contractual. As long ago as 2004 EBTs were seen as dodgy and HMRC sent letters and notices saying that it was illegal the first court cases where started in 2010.
The issue in footballing terms was that it wasn't declared to the SPL and the SFA directly against the football rules , that all remuneration should be declared in the submission to the league. The internal SPL investigation ruled no issue as lord Nemo Smith rules that it was a loan and not remuneration.
They the wee tax case, which was ruled illegal almost immediately and also not declared to football authorities. This wasn't investigated at all by LNS as the SPL and the SFA deliberately avoided this in the terms of reference.
The investigation ruled that there was no "sporting advantage" as they were legal and as you say every club could use them, if the big tax case is ruled illegal then this obviously wrong.