Who wants state aid for football clubs
A bipartisan amendment to the Dl Aiuti quater offers a maxi installment payment to sports (and football) clubs together with a penal and administrative shield. But the Ministry of Economy says no. Facts, names, numbers and insights
Covid19 has hit the world of sport (and football) hard , which today is floundering in debt. It is to improve the fortunes of a sector that, in Italy alone, has a turnover of up to 78.8 billion euros , that an amendment to the quater aid decree has emerged which not only guarantees the right to pay debts in installments with the taxman , but also not to receive sanctions and to be protected from the risk of criminal relapses.
But not everyone agrees, starting with Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti .
WITH THE PANDEMIC THE DEBTS OF WORLD FOOTBALL COMPANIES TRIPLED
According to the 12th edition of the Football Report , an impressive analysis prepared by the FIGC which every year photographs the most significant trends in the world of football, the pandemic has tripled the debts of companies in the sector . In the 2018-19 year, the total debts amounted to 412 million euros, in the 2020-21 season the bill to settle rose to 1.3 billion euros . To weigh the imposition of closed doors first and then the limitations of capacity. The clubs had to give up potential ticketing revenues of €513.3m . Despite this, incredibly, player salaries increased by 7.9%.
THE BIPARTISAN AMENDMENT THAT WANTS TO HELP THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL
Parliament has introduced an amendment to article 13 of Legislative Decree Aiuti quater (n. 176/2022) which provides for the " payment in installments up to a maximum of 60 equal monthly installments , with the payment of the first three installments by 22 December 2022 ” of tax and social security payments suspended to deal with the health emergency from January to November 2022 (and which should have been made in a single installment originally on 16 December). The amendment is bipartisan in nature, it was voted by FdI, FI, Pd, M5S, Maie and Gruppo Misto. This facilitation would be at no cost to the defaulting taxpayer, i.e. without penalties.
INSTALLMENTS WITHOUT SANCTION
This passage is very interesting because the law already provides, for all taxpayers, the possibility of repaying their debts to the tax authorities up to five years but with a 10% fine . A tax of no small importance if one considers the monstrous figure to which the debts of football clubs amount. Serie A clubs have outstanding debts ranging from 500 to 600 million euros.
THE MAXI PENAL SHIELD FOR FOOTBALL CLUB
Payment by installments, in addition to not being subject to a penalty, is also protected by a maxi penal, sporting and administrative shield. In addition to not applying administrative sanctions and interest, there would also be no " criminal and sporting sanctions " just as "pending the conversion of the decree into law, economic, criminal and sporting sanctions do not apply. In fact, in the event of non-payment of personal income tax withholdings above €150,000 per year and VAT payments above €250,000 , the criminal conduct of managers and companies is triggered.
THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL ASKS FOR HELP
For some time the owner of Lazio and senator of Forza Italia Claudio Lotito has raised the need to obtain the installment payment of tax and social security debts. It is no coincidence that the first signatory of the amendment is the party companion of sen. Lotito Dario Damiani . The world of football has repeatedly complained that it has not received enough aid to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic. During his hearing in the Senate on 28 November, the president of the Serie A League Lorenzo Casini underlined that the suspension of payments is considered the only refreshment obtained . The Serie A clubs have only taken advantage of some general measures, such as the possibility of suspending depreciation or that of re-evaluating the brand and other assets such as the player pool.
THE "NO" FROM MINISTER GIORGETTI AND THE MEF
There will be no ad hoc rules for sports clubs and on the debt front there will be rules for all companies. According to reports from Ansa , the Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti expressed his position during the majority summit on the maneuver, confirming the no already expressed by the Mef to the amendment to the quater aid decree which allows sports clubs to pay in installments suspended payments . Sports minister Andrea Abodi is also against it, as are other parliamentarians from different sides. Among other things, however, there are already tools for rescheduling that apply to everyone.
FROM MATTEO RENZI A STILL "NO", REVERSE FROM PATUANELLI
The senator of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, is against the amendment. “ If there is a measure to support professional football teams – said the former Premier -, after all the crap that the clubs have done , not just one, I will ask to intervene in the Chamber and I will forcefully say that giving them money is a disgrace." M5S Senator Stefano Patuanelli withdrew his signature. “I proposed to insert and will soon be filed as an amendment to the budget law the installment mechanism which will concern all economic activities and citizens , therefore not just sports clubs – said the senator -. This is to ensure fair treatment for anyone in difficulty"
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/chi-vuole-aiuti-di-stato-per-le-societa-di-calcio/ on Wed, 07 Dec 2022 14:53:15 +0000.