Chapter 505： Arsenal tax evasion

?The next day, Messi became the headline of the English media. Who would have thought that this Argentine kid who made a name in the game actually got Knotts County to spend Euros to get him.

After confirmation by the media and the Barcelona club, it was confirmed that Lough did not lie. Notts County did pay the training fee in Euros, not the transfer fee. You must know that Messi and Barcelona had not signed a formal professional contract at that time.

It’s a little too shocking to be able to value the euro at the age of 15!

Even if Messi is talented and has far more skills than his peers, no club will pay such a high fee for a 15-year-old young player. You know, there are too many unclear things in the future. This little player's growth is not as expected, so this euro will also be drifting!

Although no one has made clear statistics, it is estimated that it will not exceed 100 people!

How crazy is Knotts County that he can make such a big bet for a 15-year-old player!

This season, Notts County did not have much investment in the transfer market and was laughed at by countless people. Now it seems that Notts County is not willing to spend money. If Notts County is not willing to spend money, then no one deserves it. So described.

From David's entry to the present, the most expensive signing of Knotts County is to spend Euros to introduce Robben. This is already the king of Knotts County's transfer, but now this record has been broken by teenager Messi. At the age of 15, Messi was already worth it.

If so compared with Rooney, Messi and Rooney are really no problem. Rooney has proved himself. Although his value is exaggerated, it also represents his unlimited potential, and Messi is even more so, 15-year-old At that time, I am afraid that even the Youth League has not played many games, it already has the value of the euro, you can imagine how bright his future is.

Messi’s almost stunning performance in this game also seems to prove this point, I am afraid that Rooney may not have such a performance in his first Premier League season.

The two are now being compared with each other for hype. Rooney is very disgusted with this, but after watching the game replay, he has to admit that Messi can’t do this series of actions by himself. If Mei West's physical condition can be exercised better, so in the future, he can definitely become the top star. From him, it seems that he can really see the shadow of Maradona.

Messi is on fire. As the most popular new star in the entire Premier League, there are countless times more reporters standing by his door every day waiting to interview him than before. Fans will suddenly come to him to take a group photo and sign on the road. But a rare scene.

However, the little fleas did not float because of this, he knew what he was after!

I thought Messi would continue to be the focus of attention during this period of time, dig out past experiences, and spread gossip with other giants. These are the tricks commonly used by the media, as if everything has become routine.

However, to everyone's surprise, in just one day, another major event occurred in English football, directly covering up Messi's light.

This time it was unlucky Arsenal!

A tax evasion investigation slip from the British Royal Taxation and Customs Administration was placed on the desk of Arsenal Club officials. The investigation involved nearly 12 million pounds of tax evasion.

This is the Arsenal “tax avoidance scandal” that David heard in his previous life.

According to British law, players need to pay 40% of personal income tax and 1% of national insurance premiums as high-income earners in other industries, which means that the actual income that players can get is less than 60% of wage income.

The high tax rate has led players to seek reasonable tax avoidance. If it were not for this time an Arsenal midfielder Paler and his ex-wife had a lawsuit regarding alimony, these actions might not be discovered.

Because of the divorce case, Paler was forced to disclose his annual income to the court. All his pre-tax income was 1.55 million pounds, while he only paid 350,000 pounds of tax, equivalent to 22% of his personal income. It is under normal circumstances to pay taxes, he needs to pay 630,000 pounds.

A lawsuit set off a bigger storm. After investigation, Arsenal and the players' tax avoidance methods were also made public and exposed to the sun.

It turned out that the main players of Arsenal generally have to sign two contracts, one is the basic salary contract, under which the stars pay taxes normally, but the other contract on the star’s game bonus accounts for nearly half of the player’s total income. Bonuses are used to evade taxes ingeniously through front companies.

Arsenal established a front company in 2001, and all first-team players in the club are shareholders of the company. The dividends received by players are actually their game bonuses.

In this way, the actual tax paid by Arsenal players is only 25% of their personal income, instead of the usual 40%.

For example, Henry, the top scorer, pays about 70,000 pounds less in tax each year; coach Wenger can save 118,000 pounds a year, and even a substitute player like Kanu has escaped more than 60,000 pounds of tax.

There is also an argument that Arsenal’s tax evasion is to set up a trust company, and the trust company will issue bonuses to players in the form of “borrowings”. In fact, these “loans” never have to be returned.

Arsenal has paid 7.6 million pounds in prize money and saved 3 million pounds for the players in this season.

In addition to Arsenal, clubs such as Middlesbrough and Leeds also use the same means to evade taxes

In the West Personal income tax is called "Robin Hood tax", which means that a tax like Robin Hood "robs the rich to help the poor", but if you want Arsenal and Arsenal players to evade taxes, then let the majority of the British The people are very dissatisfied.

This method of tax evasion may not be illegal, but it is unethical and belongs to a loophole in the law.

As soon as the matter was exposed, there was an uproar, and Arsenal's reputation plummeted, and it almost became a cross-border rat.

When the issue of Henry’s contract renewal is still inconclusive, once the “tax evasion case” is established, it will cause a great blow to the Arsenal Club. If the level of personal income drops, the “Arsenal” will want to retain Henry, which will be more difficult. .

Arsenal is in huge trouble. Arsenal's direct competitors such as Notts County are undoubtedly very happy. Even if it cannot be a fatal blow to Arsenal in the long run, short-term trouble is enough The arsenal has a headache. Isn’t this the best time for them to get rid of Arsenal!

The long road to contention depends on who left behind first! (To be continued.)