Filenews 22 November 2024 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Despite the moral hesitation initially felt by the majority of parties to increase the tax on football betting so that the increased receipts of the state could be used to pay tax debts of football clubs, some MPs changed their stance.
That's because the close branding they received from football companies and agents paid off.
According to information provided by Fileleftheros, MPs from some party sectors demanded that the controversial bill be returned for discussion in the parliamentary Finance Committee and forwarded to the plenary for approval. Thus, the bill, which provides for an increase in betting tax from 3% on net earnings to 4.5%, so that the extra revenue will cover the tax debts of clubs, will be discussed next Friday in the competent committee. Indeed, it is not excluded that the Minister of Finance will be invited to the meeting, but also the leadership of the CFA and the Commissioner for State Aid Control.
They were split in two
According to information provided by "F", this bill is causing tremors in parliamentary groups, as MPs have been divided in two. Many of them disagree with the passage of the bill and some others, due to the weight of the votes of supporters of certain groups, demand that it be passed. Those who disagree believe that it is not morally and politically correct for Cypriot taxpayers to pay for football clubs and for them in turn not to comply with various government plans to pay off their tax debts, especially when they have large budgets.
On the other hand, those who are burning for the bill to be approved consider that football's contribution to Cypriot society is important.
The bill will have to be approved before the end of the year, as that is when the ultimatum given by the Commissioner of Taxation Sotiris Markides for football clubs to pay off the new debts they created and start paying the instalments they agreed last year with the Ministry of Finance for the debts of €35.6 million.
What does the CFA support?
Following yesterday's report by "F" that the Tax Department will promote legal proceedings against those clubs that will not comply with the repayment plan, CFA Secretary General Fivos Vakis intervened.
As he said, at a time when some football clubs have debts, it is the duty of the Commissioner of Taxation to send letters and set timetables. He noted that clubs that have debts will (must) negotiate with the Tax Department. Regarding the bill, he said that the government links it to clubs debts, but he sees the issue differently. Football wanting a share of betting revenue, which relies on the football product offered by clubs, was broadly its position.
