HMRC reaches £56m settlement with Rangers liquidator

BDO, the liquidator of Rangers football club, has reached a £56m agreement with HMRC to settle a tax dispute regarding the club’s use of employee benefit trusts (EBTs).

HMRC first pursued a case against the club after arguing that more than £47m paid to players, managers and directors between 2001 and 2010 in tax-free loans were earnings and should therefore be taxable.

The Supreme Court ruled against the football club in 2017. 

According to the BBC, BDO said that settlement “will ensure that HMRC will not raise any further claims in the liquidation”.

HMRC originally claimed £64.5m, with the latest settlement representing a 13.2% reduction on that.

In its final report on the matter, BDO said: “As a result, all other unsecured creditors should receive dividends totalling approximately 5.3p in the pound 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.”