Liga National de Futbol Profesional (LFP) chief executive Francisco Roca has insisted the body’s demands for better tax rates across football are justified, despite the country’s current economic plight.
The LFP is currently lobbying the government to lower its VAT rate on football clubs from 16% to 7% by reclassifying football as part of the entertainment industry.
Roca said: “Other entertainment industries have lower VAT so why not us? I won’t dispute that it’s not an ideal time to do this, but we’ve been discussing this for many, many years.
“It might seem like we’re coming out of the blue with this and of course it doesn’t look good because Spain’s wider economy is in crisis, but we’ve been trying to do it for some time.”
Roca added that the contribution of the football industry to the Spanish economy should not be underestimated.
“It shouldn’t be forgotten that football generates at least 1% of Spain’s GDP. That is quite a lot,” he added. “They (the government) should be helping us. The least they can do is not put any additional difficulties our way.”
Since January 1, Spanish football clubs have also been unable to call upon the so-called ‘Beckham Law’, which allowed foreign players to avoid being taxed on their earnings outside Spain.
“It came as a big shock that the government decided to change the tax laws in the middle of the competition,” he said. “You would expect any changes to happen after the end of the competition following discussions with the league, but it just came in suddenly. We’re talking to the government about that and telling them about how difficult the situation is.”
Francisco confirmed the claim of Sevilla executive Jose Maria Cruz Andres on Tuesday that “around six clubs” are in serious danger of going bankrupt in Spain.