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International Football

New Sales Tax Levy In France To Hike Ligue 1 Ticket Prices Following EC Injunction

French football fans "will have to fork out more money" in '15 if they want to watch Ligue 1 action following an "injunction by the European Commission, asking for the nationwide implementation of VAT for sports tickets," according to Samindra Kunti of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Ligue 1 is "traditionally one of the more fan-friendly leagues in Europe when it comes to ticket pricing." Last summer the European Commission "deemed irregular the many exemptions from VAT for the entertainment industry, including sports, in different municipalities and according to different tariffs in France." Paris St. Germain, Nantes and Bordeaux were the "few clubs of only a handful in Ligue 1 that included VAT in their ticket prices." France introduced a new VAT of 5.5 %, "akin to the VAT for cultural events, applicable to 'admission to sports events' tickets in order to avoid a conviction by the European Court of Justice." The new tax came into force on Jan. 1 (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 1/5).

LINGERING EFFECT: L'EQUIPE reported the French 75% tax on salaries above €1M ($1.2M) “legally disappeared” on Jan. 1, but “its effects will be felt on the budget of the clubs in 2015." France’s Union of Professional Football Clubs (UCPF) Managing Dir Philippe Diallo said, “For the 2014 fiscal year, the second part of the tax is payable in May 2015.” Introduced for two years beginning in ‘13, this tax would, he said, cost between €40M-45M ($47.7M-53.6M) to a total of 14 Ligue 1 clubs in ‘14 and “should be paid in May.” Diallo: “It was extremely penalizing in 2014 because nobody had anticipated and set aide some sort of tax.” According to Diallo, the overall losses for the '14 fiscal year -- about €100M ($119.2M) -- is “more than 40% attributable to the tax on high incomes.” French football clubs will still be affected by the 75% tax until ’16 (L’EQUIPE, 1/5).

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