Filenews 1 April 2025 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
The expiration, yesterday, of the deadline given by the Tax Department to large unions – companies that created new debts in the Income Tax and VAT was not accompanied by the payment of the debts.
Their administrations, however, gave assurances that they have collected significant sums to proceed with payments to the Tax Department in the coming days and promised that they will pay more in April, covering most of the debts that the state demands to be paid immediately. The unions asked for a new time credit, 2-3 weeks, and now they are waiting for the response of the Ministry of Finance, which will take its decisions in the next 2-3 days, after a meeting between the Minister of Finance and the Commissioner of Taxation. The message, however, that was sent to the clubs is that the issue must be closed in one way or another very soon. Otherwise, indictments will be filed before a court.
The money demanded here and now by the Tax Department from the four clubs amounts to €5.3 million. The unions are alarmed by the possibility that their former and current administrators (including current ministers, mayors and MPs) will be prosecuted through the activation of the indictments of the Tax Department. They have paid some amounts, but they have to pay many times more in the coming days. APOEL is required to pay €1.8 million, AEL €1.6 million, Apollon €1.3 million. and Anorthosis €650,000.
€700,000 gathered APOEL
As "F" is informed, APOEL sent a letter to the Tax Department asking for it to be given two weeks, i.e. until mid-April, to repay a large part of the new debts. APOEL informed that it had collected €700,000 out of the €1.8 million it must pay immediately and left open the possibility that before mid-April the amount would rise to €1 million. A competent source told us that APOEL's suggestion for a short extension is being examined.
The AEL club has submitted a proposal to pay off all new debts in one lump sum, amounting to €2 million. and a final settlement is expected. In relation to the debts of the AEL company, amounting to €3 million, the Tax Commissioner will register indictments in court. Since the company has been separated from the AEL club for more than two years, the club is expected to pass the UEFA criteria.
50% from Apollon – Anorthosis
Apollon and Anorthosis have submitted a proposal to pay 50% of their debts, which corresponds to around €1 million and the remaining amount in the following months. Anorthosis proposed the financial aid of €75,000 that the state will pay to the Varosha team be offset against the debts.
At the same time, Paphos and Aris, who have expressed their intention to repay all their debts, amounting to €1.6 million, are awaiting the decision of the Council of Ministers in relation to the discounts that will be granted to them, as was done in the case of AEK Kition.
More than €4 million and we see
Therefore, with these data, if the government consents to the request to give some time to the clubs to pay, the state is likely to collect an amount of more than €4 million, despite the fact that it initially demanded more. However, the rest of the money, as we have been told, will have to be paid by the teams in the next few months.
Depending on the compliance of the unions, the Council of Ministers will decide in the course of time whether to include some clubs again in the Debt Repayment Plan. After it is established that the clubs have settled their debts, then they will be able to receive the coveted certificate that they meet UEFA's criteria.
