After strong criticism
The richest league in the world, which spent over 2.2 billion euros on transfers this summer, is not made even more interesting for footballers by a change in the law: according to original plans, taxes for top earners in England should be reduced from 45 to 40 percent will. According to the “Times“ That would have meant a net plus of 270,000 euros for the average Premier League professional at the end of the year. After heavy criticism and a slump in the pound exchange rate, the government around Prime Minister Liz Truss has now rowed back.
The new Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng wrote on Twitter: “We understood, we listened.” In addition to the political opposition, some party members such as ex-ministers Michael Gove and Grant Shapps had criticized the government’s plans and reserved the right to vote against them in parliament. The rethinking was mainly due to the statements made by the population, said Kwarteng, who originally wanted to implement the tax cuts to boost economic growth.
The island’s top tax rate of 45 per cent applies to all annual salaries of £150,000 (€167,000) and 40 per cent applies to those earning over £50,000 a year. The professionals of the 20 English first division clubs receive an estimated average of around 4.5 million euros per season, on which they will not pay less tax from 2023 after all.
The salary costs of the Big Six in the Premier League
Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (37), for example, the best-paid player in the league at almost 30 million euros, would have according to the “Mirror“ Received 1.45 million euros more net than before. He is said to be followed by Kevin De Bruyne (31) and Erling Haaland (22) from Manchester City, who collect a good 23 million euros, and United goalkeeper David de Gea (31) with 22 million euros. A club official told The Times: “Tax can be an issue when negotiating transfers because players want to know their net wages. I think the tax cut will make the Premier League even more attractive.”
Spain’s LaLiga, where the top tax rate is 47 percent, and Germany’s Bundesliga, where 45 percent has to be ceded, would have had the next competitive disadvantage in the transfer market had the change been waved through. In Italy and France, there are sometimes significant tax breaks for professionals who switch to Serie A and Ligue 1 from abroad.
The article first appeared after the news broke on September 28th and was updated on October 3rd with the new findings
To home page