Tax
Croatian Footballer Caught Up In Spanish Authorities' Tax Crackdown
The Spanish tax authorities have been investigating a lot of players in the country over issues surrounding image rights.
Spanish prosecutors have accused Real Madrid midfielder Luka
Modric of defrauding tax authorities of £770,000 ($1.04 million)
in 2013 and 2014, according to the Daily Mail.
The newswire said prosecutors were informed last month that
Modric may have “financial positions” in the Isle of Man, and
they were not known by tax authorities in Spain. And this could
have affected the amount of taxes the player was supposed to pay
in Spain.
The accusations against the 32 year old came a day
after Brazilian defender Marcelo appeared in a Madrid
court in another tax case, which was
reported by this publication.
Footballers in Spain have been investigated by the tax
authorities in recent years because of the abolition of the
Beckham Rule for professional footballers. When David
Beckham went to Spain to play for Real Madrid in 2003, a
special Spanish tax system (Regimen especial para Trabajadores
Desplazados) was set up for him so he did not have to pay tax on
his worldwide image rights. This system was extended to
people moving to Spain, although in an ironic twist, professional
footballers were excluded from the scheme from
1 January, 2015.
This has sparked investigations into the biggest stars in
Spanish football since the abolition of the rule. Last
year, Lionel Messi and his father were found guilty on three
counts of defrauding tax authorities of £3.4 million from income
made from image rights. In June, this publication reported
that former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, now at Manchester
United, is also being investigated.