MARK OGREN admits he was aware of Dundee United’s research and development claims but regrets not finding out more.
The Terrors belong to a group of clubs under research after their 2021 tax coercion.
Under HMRC rules, a company can apply for public money if it has tried to obtain advances science or technology to benefit a global field.
United’s then tax advisor reportedly made several claims, including that players spent 24% of their time conducting research and development power supply and data collection projects.
This allowed United to use the scheme to recover that part of the player’s wages from the taxpayer.
American owner Ogren insists the club has had a close dialogue HMRCwhere money is set aside to cover any fines.
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But he wishes he had examined the proposals in more detail when they were initially presented to him.
Asked if he knew the club was pursuing the claims, he said: “Yes, I did. This was a number of years ago.”
“I was told we were doing creative and innovative things at the football side, that this R&D existed and that other people were doing it.
“We had a third party that helped us, so I was aware of it. I clearly wasn’t aware of the details of everything.
“Believe me, I know a lot more about it now than I did then, let me just say. Do I regret not asking for more details?
“Of course. I hate being in this position. Questions were asked at the time, but I didn’t go into the details of what exactly we were doing.”
“We brought someone in from outside to run this and then partnered with an outside company. This is what they did for a living. So at the time I felt like we were pretty covered in that.”
When asked if he felt misled, he said: “I’m not going to comment on that.”
English Premier League teams Chelsea, Fulham and Nottingham Forest have reportedly made similar claims.
An outcome is now believed to be close and Ogren admits he would like to draw a line under the case.
In Dundee before the club’s AGM yesterday he said: “Unfortunately the struggle we have at this point is the amount of time that has passed.
“There is currently no one at the club who had anything to do with the actual submission.
“Us finance director James Robertson has had to roll up his sleeves and work with a third party – because many questions have been asked – to provide the information.
“I feel like we are in a good place with HMRC at the moment. It will come to a head quite quickly and we will get it behind us one way or another.
“But we have the feeling that whatever the outcome is, it is manageable for the club. Because we do not know the exact amount, we already put something in the account last year that is reserved for this.”
“To tell you how long it has been going on, we referred to last year’s accounts.
“Now we’re here. It’s still not resolved. But this time we’ve put some numbers into it, because we’re a bit further along in that process.” judgement.
“HMRC will determine the date and time of an outcome, but we are not alone in following them.”
News of United’s claim has sparked public outrage money was used to pay players.
Ogren added: “I understand that. That’s my unequivocal answer to that.”
“But I also think there are people who report information of which they do not know the whole truth.
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“There is some additional information that we could share that could offset some of the things that are out there.
“We feel like it’s not in our best interest to respond because then it just becomes a back and forth. We’re dealing with it — and we want to reassure everyone that it’s under control.”
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