The Spanish football may lose the hegemony because of the new tributes (Yahoo)

On Thursday 5 November, the League of Professional Football (LFP), that represents the clubs, started a movement trying to revert the amendment of the law by which the foreign workers that receive more than 600.000 Euros per annum now should pay 43 per cent of their profits in taxes against the 24 percent they paid before and that affects extraordinarily the registration of the big stars, for the future.

The president of the LFP, José Luis Astiazarán, said that the next 19 will be decisive as to what can happen to the Spanish football because that day the LFP (represented by the principals of the Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, of Sevilla, José María Del Nido, of Nástic of Tarragona, Xavié Salvadó, and of Numancia, Francisco Rubio) will meet with the authorities of the National Government and if at that time no negotiations are advanced the football could be stopped, in an unedited situation that the communication media call as “lockout of the management”.

Astiazarán was slightly optimistic as that it can occur in the next ten days, considering that on one side, the directives of the clubs “we are all together in this complain” and saying that the State “should understand that they receive back many resources that we generate from our activity”.

Everything started last week when in the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) that is in the Government, the left and the Galician Nationalist Party. agreed to obtain by majority to change the law by which the Foreign workers that receive more than 600.000 Euros per year pass to tribute 43 percent of their profits against the 24 percents they tributed before; in that way is finished the one called “Beckham Law” that favored the registration of big stars in the football and other professional Sports in Spain, in detriment of other leagues of countries where the tribute was much higher.

Only the foreign footballist with more than ten years of permanency in Spain could be saved to pay this tribute. Only in Barcelona nine players in their team have less than ten years in the country and will be involved in the increase of tribute to the State. Daniel Alves is nine year between and the Sevilla and Barcelona, Gabriel Milito seven, Márquez, Abidal, Henry, Touré Yaya y Keita three years, to whom should be added the first season of Ibrahimovic, Maxwell y Chigrynsky and in the club they calculate that the new law will cost 6.500.000
Euros in expenses. Not very different is the situation of the Real Madrid and their stars and many other teams.

In fact, the president of Milan, Adriano Galliani, when he learned about this modification of the law he said he was “satisfied” and added that “since now we shall start to be all the leagues in a parity situation”, though he cleared up that in Spain “ there continues being advantage in the big teams because there the TV rights are negotiated individually and the powerful take the advantage of the small”

The 43 percents that now the foreign footballist will pay in Spain will start to even same as it occurs in other powerful leagues in Europe, for instance, Holland, the tribute of the foreign stars is 42 per cents per year. In Italy the law is much more wide and the foreign footballists have to pay 43 per cent if their earnings per year is higher than 75.000 Euros.

In Germany, the foreign footballists should pay a tribute of 45 per cent per year if their receive more than 250.000 Euros during twelve months as well as in England but with the base of 150.000 Sterling Pounds as per April 2010 and In France, this week will be voted the law by the National Assembly that eliminates what is called Collective Image Right (DIC), of the sportsmen what meant for them to contribute 30 percent less, formerly, of their gross income.

The DIC is applied since2005 for about one thousand athletes. Though in majority it benefits footballists.

In spite of all, the quick agents of the footballists are thinking to counteract this new adjustment by the States: an idea that circulates that in the new contracts this new contracts instead of a payment figures a loan without interests even to the total sum of the annual salaries, what pays scarcely 2,5 percents of taxes in the majority of the European countries..

The truth is that in a few days, if the football directives will not reach an agreement with the Government, the Spanish league will begin to lose the force that it had in the last years, and that generated that the stars preferred this destination on others.

For José Antonio Alonso, spokesman of the Parliament of the Socialist Party that governs, the matter is easy, “the footballists should tribute as any other citizen. It is a strict equity, solidarity and fiscal justice. In times of crisis everybody must adjust belts”.

The situation doesn´t seem easy because of the economic crisis that Spain is living this days, and the political cost the government should pay if accepts to reduce the taxes would be really big. But on the other side, if they stay firm, the Spanish League would find difficult to maintain as a world potency, and its teams should use their own players without looking abroad.