HM Revenue and Customs' chief executive has insisted they made no tax calculation blunder that led to the downfall of Rangers.
Jim Harra, has sent a letter to The Times to object to what they described as an "incorrect" article that said that tax officials were blamed for the financial collapse of the Ibrox club by overstating their liability over Employment Benefit Trusts by £51m
BDO, the liquidator of the old Rangers business claims the taxman's calculations were wrong and if their challenge is successful would bring down its £94m tax claim to just £43m.
The taxman said around £74m was owed for the club’s use of Employment Benefit Trusts from 2001 to 2010 to pay players and staff as part of the overall tax claim.
The Herald itself received confirmation that BDO's challenge if successful would mean the EBT part of the overall claim could drop to just £23m - with BDO saying £24m in penalties had already wiped out by agreement while interest payments were also expected to be cut.
READ MORE: Legal claim option as taxman blamed for Rangers downfall
As widely reported today and to clarify: HMRC won against Rangers’ tax avoidance in the Supreme Court, and did not miscalculate anything
— HMRC Press Office (@HMRCpressoffice) November 14, 2019
Mr Harra has now written to Magnus Llewellin, the editor of The Times, Scotland to defend its handling of the club's tax affairs, a day after the taxman refused to comment, or even describe how it would normally handle EBT cases generally.
"I am writing in relation to your coverage of Rangers' tax affairs on 14th November 2019," wrote Mr Harra. "The article is incorrect: HMRC did not make any mistakes that led to the club's insolvency.
"HMRC won against Rangers' tax avoidance in the Supreme Court. We have a long-standing claim with the liquidators to recover the money due as a result of this judgement.
"The UK has one of the lowest rates of unpaid tax anywhere in the world. Inaccurate and partial reporting only serves to undermine public trust in the tax system.
"HMRC is committed to getting tax right, for everyone - and to challenge tax avoidance wherever we find it. We make sure large businesses, like all other taxpayers, pay the taxes due under UK law."
The Herald is aware that executives within the board overseen by owner Sir David Murray felt confusion over the club's tax burden had deterred potential investors when the club was put up for sale in 2011, and ultimately culminated in the operating company's collapse under controversial businessman Craig Whyte - who had bought it in May 2011 for £1.
The Rangers business fell into insolvency over non-payment of tax of £14m under Craig Whyte's ownership, and the club ended up in the third tier of Scottish football.
The Ibrox club fell into administration in February 2012 over outstanding PAYE and national insurance payments, and subsequently entered liquidation in June 2012.
Former senior HM Revenue and Customs inspector Stephen Outhwaite believes his former employers made an error in using a 'grossing up' method to calculate a huge £74m Rangers' tax bill - that was being blamed for the club’s financial implosion.
This sees the amounts paid to players, staff and executives through the EBT scheme as net pay. An HMRC calculation would add the higher rate of tax, 40%, plus national insurance to the payment to work out the total owed.
Mr Outhwaite says that 'grossing up' should not be applied to staff and players and should only apply to directors in certain circumstances.
READ MORE: Former HMRC tax inspector: 'Grossing up' should not have applied to Rangers players
The amounts paid into the trust varied from a total of £6.3m received by Sir David Murray to £7,500 for Bellshill-born defender Steven Smith, who left the club in 2011.
The average amount received by Rangers and Murray Group employees was about £445,000.
The HMRC's position throughout Thursday was that they "don't comment on identifiable businesses".
Mr Harra's letter was published on social media by HMRC.
Meanwhile tax expert Jo Maugham QC has said suggestions HM Revenue and Customers could be sued over the collapse of Rangers in 2012 is "fantasy stuff".
He said: "HMRC are no longer contending that it is appropriate to apply a penalty and that's pretty much it.
"I've not see anything that suggests HMRC has done anything wrong.
"It's wildly unlikely (that HMRC could be sued over the events which led to the collapse of Rangers) I would say.
"I'm a QC who specialises in tax. I'm a litigator in the tax sphere, so I see all this stuff routinely all the time.
"It would take an absolutely remarkable set of facts before HMRC could be sued for getting the numbers wrong.
"And there is nothing remotely justifying anything like that which I have seen. "It's a million miles away from that. It's fantasy stuff."
A Rangers spokesman said: "The Times story, if it is shown to be accurate, throws up a great many questions and is a cause for concern.
"Rangers will take time to consider any courses of action which may become feasible."
A BDO spokesman said that, since June, tax specialists have been negotiating with HMRC over the size of the tax bill.
“There is no final decision. Negotiations are ongoing and we expect a resolution of this in 2020,” said the spokesman.
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