You seem to know an awful lot about how Rangers implemented their EBT. Perhaps you should be involved in the tax case.
I know what is in the public arena. I am amazed that there are Rangers supporters out there who still don't know everything there is to know about how EBT's work and how their club applied them.
Organising your financial affairs to minimise tax liability, via EBT or otherwise, is not illegal.
You post this as though this would be some kind of revelation to me?
I understand that point.
Do you understand that misapplying those perfectly legal schemes is cheating both the tax man and every single side Rangers lined out against during this time*? Do you understand that these alleged side letters and secondary contracts are extremely strong indicators that Rangers were fully cognisant of the fact that they may very well be misapplying this scheme?
It isn't a case of the tax man waking up one morning and deciding they didn't like ebt's and anyone who availed of the scheme should be retrospectively held liable for the benefits they accrued. it is a case of the tax man realising that companies were very deliberately misapplying it.
If you will indulge me for a moment, and I say this only to illustrate my position. I am aware of a company that throughout the early part of this century aided high earners in minimising their liabilities. Included in that were Irish footballers and Celtic players whom I held in very high regard. The scheme involved holding money in an overseas account. I thought (and think) that this is immoral. The UK tax authorities were alerted to this but had to let it slide because it was fully above board. The country that held these accounts thought they might be due a couple few pounds in tax on this, so launched their own investigation. No luck their either. They closed the loophole at both ends and that was that. It was all above board and all legal.
By exactly the same token, If Rangers win the tribunal (all indications are that in this scenario the tax man will appeal) then I will be unhappy at the practice, but accepting that they did so within the realms of the law.
Should they lose, it is cheating and every single trophy Rangers won during this period should be stripped from them.
Moving on to this year, that is also cheating. A fitting (sporting) punishment would, in my opinion be automatic relegation.
*Obviously should Rangers lose the tribunal