The financial situation of FC Barcelona, ??in a critical state according to specialists in the matter, has received a new blow. The Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the National Court has confirmed the Resolution of the Central Economic Administrative Court (TEAC) that imposed on the Barça club the payment of almost 23 million euros for personal income tax between the years 2012 to 2015 derived from the salaries paid. to the players’ representatives.
The ruling implies the rejection of the appeal presented by Barcelona against the TEAC Resolution, which dates back to June 2020 and whose amount claimed ranged from the 8,764,118 euros of tax settlement, to the payments of 3,031,893 euros (2012), 4,348,402 euros (2013), 5,172,955 euros (2014) and 1,414,158 euros (2015), in concept and sanction. The dates of the affected years coincide with the presidential terms of Sandro Rosell (2010-14) and Josep Maria Bartomeu (2014-20).
As the resolution of the National Court explains, the underlying issue lies in the nature of the services provided by the players’ agents. While the Administration maintains that the remuneration paid by the club to the representatives are work income and are subject to withholding at the time of payment, FC Barcelona understands that the amounts cannot be attributed as remuneration to the players.
The ruling, which is appealable, ensures that “it appears that the club is remunerating the agent for non-existent services, when in reality part of the remuneration is being paid to the player in this way, for the services he provides to the club, with the corresponding tax incidence, which affects IS, VAT and Personal Income Tax, distorting the tax base of such tax concepts.”
