Filenews 23 January 2025 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The next move of the Ministry of Finance is expected by football companies regarding the proposal they submitted to it yesterday to pay 1/3 of the new debts they created to the Tax Department from May 2023 onwards, so that they know whether they will avoid criminal prosecution and obtain a certificate of compliance with UEFA criteria.
Yesterday, the clubs APOEL, Apollonas, AEL, Anorthosis and Ethnikos Achna, after counting their beans, did what they had to do long ago, proposing during their meeting with the Commissioner of Taxation Sotiris Markidis a formula for settling their new tax debts, amounting to €4.1 million. The meeting, at the request of the affected clubs, was attended by CFA President George Koumas and the head of the Criteria Committee Nick Nicolaou.
Specifically, these unions propose to pay 1/3 of the money of their current debts. At the same time, within three months, they will pay an additional part of their debts from 2023 onwards, as well as part of their old debts, in order to be reintegrated into the debt repayment plan.
Today at the Minister the Superintendent
Technocrats of the Tax Department have been examining the proposal of football clubs since yesterday, to find... if the numbers come out, so that in the next few hours they will analyze the proposal, with various scenarios, to Finance Minister Makis Keravnos.
Today, the Commissioner of Taxation will meet with the relevant minister to examine how the situation is shaping up following the proposal. A political decision will, of course, also be needed.
The President of the Republic is informed about all developments, who has said many times that he does not want the clubs to close, but finally to comply and implement the law.
Despite the discussions that are taking place, the indictments for the Tax Department are still on the table. In case the Ministry accepts the clubs' proposal, the custodian of a new agreement will be the Cyprus Football Federation, which will supervise the clubs' compliance.
Immediate payment of €1.36 million
The proposal submitted by the five clubs that have the largest debts - and which also expresses the other eight unions that have smaller debts and the Registrar is preparing indictments against them for criminal prosecution - provides the following:
- Immediate payment of 1/3 of their new debts (out of a total of €4.1 million), equivalent to €1.36 million, while the remaining amount of debts, amounting to €2.74 million, will be included in the remaining debts and will be paid in large part within three months in instalments.
- If the new arrangement is accepted, the clubs have proposed to rejoin the latest 2023 debt settlement plan to be able to repay their remaining debts, which will now total €30.4 million. Total current debts amount to €35.5 million.
- Practically the specific formula for each club means the following:
- APOEL, which has created new tax debts of €667,000, will immediately have to pay €222,200 and the rest in instalments. After rejoining the scheme, it will have to pay monthly instalments to pay off its total longitudinal debts, amounting to €11.6 million.
- AEL will immediately have to pay an amount of €227,700, out of total new debts of €683,200. At the same time, by April it will have to pay part of the new and old debts, which are €5 million.
- Apollon, paying 1/3 of the new debts, which is €1 million, will have to pay €333,300. Total debts of €4.8 million will be included in the scheme.
- Anorthosis will have to pay €62,700 immediately from the new debts of €188,100. Upon its reintegration into the scheme, debts of €4.2 million will be settled.
- Ethnikos Achna will have to pay immediately €33,000, as its new debts are €99,000. When it rejoins the scheme, it will pay instalments for debt repayment of €1.15 million.
- Hermes Aradippou will immediately have to pay €857, since the new debts were €2,571. The total debts of the team amount to €546,000.
- Doxa-thoi Katokopias will have to pay the Tax Department €33,200. The total debts of the team are €508,800.
- Nea Salamina will have to deposit an amount of only €3.18 in the Tax, as its new debts were €9.54 (they may have been paid). Total debts amounted, when the data were submitted, to €374,100.
- Enosis Neon Paralimni will have to pay €133 immediately, as its new debts are only €400.
- Karmiotissa will pay €334, as her total debts are €1,003.
- Aris Limassol will have to pay a lump sum of €17,266 as its current debts are €51,800. The scheme will settle total debts of €434,400.
- Othello Athienou will immediately have to pay €33,500 after creating new debts of €100,600. Its total debts amount to €191,700.
- OMONOIA Aradippou will have to pay €9,733, since its new debts are €29,200. Total debts amount to €39,800.
AEK Kition, Olympiacos Nicosia and OMONIA 29th May do not owe a cent to the tax, while OMONIA Nicosia did not create any new debts but its total long-term debts are €4.9 million. Paphos, which has tax debts of €1.18 million, expressed its intention to pay them back. PAEEK Kyrenia and Akritas Chlorakas have total debts of €26,167 and €87,800 respectively.
Compliance and revision of the plan for instalments
The second aspect of the proposal submitted by the clubs – companies foresees that in the next three months they will pay part of the new and old debts. In fact, the clubs pledged that during the quarter they would submit all tax returns that they have not submitted in years. In addition, in the meantime and depending on the compliance of the unions, it is not excluded that they will raise the issue of revising the existing plan in order to increase the number of doses, which are currently 168.
However, the revision of the plan requires the approval of the Council of Ministers. It should be noted that with the recent 5% increase in betting taxes, clubs will receive more, but the money will end up in the state to pay off their debts. Therefore, the clubs are convinced that by increasing their betting revenues they will pay more money towards their obligations to the state.
- In relation to arrears to Social Insurance, in excess of €10 million, some clubs are in an open line of communication with the competent services to settle them. On March 4, APOEL will appear again in court for debts of €2.3 million.
