Two new sentences once again agree with Dani Alves against the Treasury. The National Court has issued two resolutions that oblige the Tax Agency to return to the footballer 3.2 million euros corresponding to the income settlements for the years 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 when Alves was a FC Barcelona player. The Contentious-Administrative Chamber upholds the footballer's appeal against the resolution of the Central Economic-Administrative Court (TEAC) that rejected his claim against the settlement agreement issued by the Regional Inspection Unit of Catalonia.
According to the rulings to which La Vanguardia has had access, the court upholds the appeals presented that annuls the personal income tax assessments and their surcharges and penalties and imposes the return of the income. These two sentences are added to the one handed down a couple of weeks ago in which the court also forced the treasury to return two million euros to Dani Alves, bringing the former FC Barcelona player to five million euros in total. Tax authorities.
Alves' problems with the Tax Agency began in July 2014 when an inspection began for the Personal Tax for the years 2009 - 2010 and 2011-2012 in relation to the taxation of his image rights. The player had transferred his exploitation rights to the company Cedro Esports, of which Alves held 51% of the capital and his ex-wife Dinorah 49%. The Treasury considered that the income from the exploitation of image rights should be classified as capital gains and therefore should be valued by the corporate tax law. In these circumstances, the Tax Agency ensures that when rights are transferred in favor of its own company, it is done at a market price and a simulation or a symbolic price is avoided.
Alves' defense, led by Fernando Mota Bosch, head of the tax litigation area of BDO Abogados y Asesores Tributarios, argued and the court finally agreed that the player received the salary of FC Barcelona according to the 85/15 rule, which allowed the salary to be distributed in the following way: 85% through an employment contract with the club, paying 45% for personal income tax and the remaining 15% was charged for image rights that were billed through the company Cedro Esports and paying the 25% of corporate tax. “If the 85/15 rule is complied with, it is not appropriate to regularize any situation since said rule protects the actions carried out by the player,” the ruling concludes.
In parallel, the Treasury considered that Alves did not declare the remuneration that FC Barcelona paid to the player's agent, José Rodríguez Baster, to seduce him to renew for the Barça club. These payments were made by Barça to the agent without Alves having knowledge. The treasury considered that it was the player who benefited and therefore the amount charged by the agent should be attributed to the footballer. The player's defense argued that the agent was acting in favor of the club and not the player and the Court has also agreed with him. He estimates that the Treasury ignores in its analysis “the legal transaction” carried out between the club and the agent and places it in “a parallel negotiating scheme” which is the representation contract between the player and the agent. The Barcelona Court opened oral proceedings on Monday against Alves accused of sexual assault.
