U.K. Tax Authority HMRC Granted Permission To Appeal Rangers Tax Case

U.K. tax authority HMRC "has been granted permission to appeal" the tax case it lost last year against Scottish Third Division side Rangers, according to Mike Farrell of STV. HMRC confirmed that it "had been given the go-ahead in the case" on Monday after applying for leave to appeal in December. A  2-1 vote from a three-person panel ruled that Rangers oldco, which was owned by Murray Group Holdings through a subsidiary at the time, "was not liable to pay tax on its use of employee benefit trusts" after it won the appeal "in principle." On Monday, a HMRC spokesperson said that the appeal and papers relating to it "had now been lodged with the First Tier Tax Tribunal." The appeal, which is expected to be before the Upper Tax Tribunal, is "expected to be held later this year," although no date has been fixed yet (STV, 2/4). The BBC noted if the dispute is not settled at the Upper Tier Tax Tribunal, it is "possible that it may go all the way to the Supreme Court -- a process that could take years" (BBC, 2/4).