Nov
7
Spain’s tax agency confiscated income
from several soccer clubs as it chases almost $1 billion of
debts from teams in the country’s top two divisions.
Deportivo La Coruna is among those to have revenue seized,
La Voz de Galicia newspaper reported.
A tax agency official said it recouped 132.9 million euros
of debt from teams since the start of the year, when clubs owed
a combined 752 million euros ($960 million).
The official, who declined to be identified in line with
government policy, said he couldn’t comment on individual cases.
Deportivo spokesman Rafa Carpacho declined to comment, saying
the club doesn’t speak publicly about its financial affairs.
Deportivo is 16th in the 20-team Spanish first division.
In April, the European Commission said it was examining
whether Spanish clubs are improperly receiving state aid under
agreements that delay tax payments. Atletico Madrid is paying 15
million euros a year of a 115 million-euro tax debt, Chief
Executive Officer Miguel Angel Gil said in an interview at the
time.
Atletico isn’t among the clubs that have had income seized,
Gil said in an e-mail today, adding it has met all its tax
repayment deadlines.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told the Cadena Cope
radio station yesterday that “soccer clubs are going to pay
their tax debts like everyone else.”
Rajoy is moving to reduce the government’s budget deficit
as he resists asking for a sovereign bailout.
Previous governments avoided strong-arm tactics with soccer
clubs over repaying tax debt to avoid a backlash from fans,
according to Jose Maria Gay, a Barcelona University professor
who studies team finances.
In 1995, thousands of people took to the streets when the
government relegated Sevilla and Celta Vigo from the first
division because of their debts. It later reversed its decision.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alex Duff in Madrid at
aduff4@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Christopher Elser at at
celser@bloomberg.net
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