HMRC got it wrong about Rangers in what could be one of the most monumental scandals in British sporting history.
According to the Times, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have acknowledged that they overcharged the Ibrox club by up to £50m back in 2012.
This incorrect tax bill – it is being claimed – led to the club being forced to sell to charlatan Craig Whyte, who eventually took the club’s holding company into liquidation.
The suggestion from former Rangers Chairman John McClelland is that should Rangers have been charged the appropriate amount of closer to £20m, they’d have been able to secure a more suitable investor at Ibrox.
More than that, it would’ve meant the club’s holding company wouldn’t have been liquidated and we wouldn’t have had to reapply for membership to the SPFL.
No relegation, no Mike Ashley, no Celtic title dominance.
The Times story hasn’t just opened up old wounds for Rangers fans, it’s plunged what feels like a rusty knife into them.
There are too many questions.
Was this really a “mistake” or is there something a bit more sinister afoot? One club has benefited from Rangers’ demise more than any other after all.
Why was all of this not picked up on way back in 2012?
What does it mean for the old holding company? Will Dave King take it out of liquidation as per comments made in 2015 [Daily Record]?
Who would actually have control of it if he did? Can Rangers merge the old and newco?
Are Rangers as a club able to claim for damages from HMRC after everything we’ve been through in the last seven years?
Can we make up for the loss of playing assets, the gate receipts, the lack of European football or domestic trophies which the omnishambles of 2012 created?
But above all else, there is one question which will grate with the loyal, passionate Rangers support more than any other.
Did we go through all of that for nothing?
