Football might be King in Spain, but it’s a penniless king in reality. Spanish football clubs owe a staggering 700m euros to the Spanish Tax Office (Hacienda).
Take the case of Deportive de Coruña which has had all its takings embargoed by Hacienda; takings from the TV channels, from the ticket office at the stadiums and from sponsors. Of the 18m euros that it normally gets each season from TV coverage, 14m has been taken by the Tax Office ‘first ‘bite.’ What makes it even more difficult for them with the whole season ahead is that this 18m-euro TV coverage was being used as a guarantee to its other debt holders.
The team’s Chairman, Augusto César Lendoiro admits that they are 34m euros in debt, but other sources put it closer to 90m euros.
And then there are other ailing clubs like Málaga and Atlético de Madrid; the former with its accounts blocked by Hacienda and the Latter having recently handed over 32m euros. Villareal debts were paid by the Chairman of the club, Fernando Roig, from his own pocket because the club was completely broke.
Hacienda issued a report on the 1st of January this year putting the total amount owed by the clubs at 752m euros, which has since been reduced by 50m euros. Hacienda has carried out 278 embargoes on clubs so far this year: 212 on gate takings, 40 on TV rights, eleven on the football-lottery loans (Quinielas), seven on federation rights, six on relegation grants and two on properties.
Furthermore, Hacienda won’t be getting all it is owed because 27 clubs have passed into receivership, who between them owed 141.3m euros to the Tax Office.
But football is a big earner for the state through taxes because so far this tax year it has received 330m euros from the 126 Spanish clubs: 20 1st-Division clubs, 22 2nd-Division clubs and then rest in lower order rankings, but all of them with tax obligations. Obviously, around 90% of the total tax earnings comes from the top clubs.
The Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, made it perfectly clear on a national radio station (COPE) that the clubs were in his sights for their debts to Hacienda and Seguridad Social. “Football, the players and everybody else has to pay their taxes – it’s an obligation that everybody has, and it is not fair that some pay whilst other do so but only half way,” he said.
(News: Spain)