THE Supreme Court has ruled in favour of HM Revenues and Customs in their battle against Rangers.
Between 2001 and 2010 more than £47 million were paid to players, managers and directors in tax-free loans that HMRC argued should have been taxable.
While two tribunals had previously ruled in favour of Ranger the Court of Session ruled in facvour of HMRC following an appeal made in 2015.
The case, known as the "big tax case", concerned Rangers use of Employee Benefit Trusts and it is not expected that the fact Rangers is now owned by a different company will have any impact on the court's decision.
HMRC has been attempting to recoup tax from thousands of other companies that ran similar schemes and avoided paying tax, and this court ruling could set a precedent for future court cases.
They are no in a position to potentially issue "follower notices" on the companies who ran similar schemes, demanding payment.
A number of English football clubs fall into this category.
In a written judgment, the judges said:"Payment to the Principal Trust should have been subject to deduction of income tax under the PAYE regulations."
Former Rangers chairman Sir David Murray was "hugely disappointed" with the verdict.
He said: "It should be emphasised that there have been no allegations made by HMRC or any of the courts that the club was involved in tax evasion, which is a criminal offence.
"The decision will be greeted with dismay by the ordinary creditors of the club, many of which are small businesses, who will now receive a much lower distribution in the liquidation of the club, which occurred during the ownership of Craig Whyte, than may otherwise have been the case."
The result will mean creditors will receive less of the cash collected by liquidators BDO, as HMRC will now be owed even more than before.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here