The "taxman" gave creditors of Scottish Premiership side Rangers a £1M ($1.3M) Christmas bonus, according to Craig Robertson of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. The cash "will be split among them" after HMRC reduced the amount of money it is owed from the club by £26M ($33M). Liquidator BDO will now distribute the funds -- but it is only 3.91p extra for every £1 owed. The reduction in HMRC’s bill emerged in the latest December update to creditors from Glasgow-based BDO. HMRC initially made a claim of £94M in unpaid tax against Rangers, with £74M relating to the "so-called Big Tax Case." BDO won a reduction to £68.3M ($86M) after claiming the fees and charges levied by HMRC were "too much." Rangers owed money to more than 270 individuals, businesses or groups (DAILY RECORD, 12/26).
THE OPEN BOOST: In Edinburgh, Martin Dempster reported this year's Open Championship at Carnoustie alone generated a £120M ($152M) benefit to Scotland. The news comes a few days after a review of Scotland's National Golf Tourism Strategy extended the industry's target for the value of the sector to £325M ($411M). Scotland also benefited from £51M ($65M) in destination marketing activity thanks to the game's "oldest major being broadcast on television," according to an independent report by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (SCOTSMAN, 12/23).
