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9am Lowdown: Barcelona defender sentenced to prison over tax fraud

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22nd Jan 2016
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Good morning, here’s Friday’s 9am Lowdown.

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Barcelona defender’s tax fraud own goal

Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano has been sentenced to a year in prison and fined £625,000 over a £1.1m tax fraud charge.

Mascherano is expected to avoid prison because the sentencing falls under two years and so are not enforced in Spain. He has already paid back the unpaid tax plus almost 200,000 euros in interest. The charges are relating to allegedly concealing his earnings from his image rights in 2011 and 2012.

Mascherano released a statement following the verdict via his Twitter account. He wrote: 

"I’m a sporting professional, I don’t have a great understanding of tax and legal matters.

“Therefore, to deal with what are for me technical and complicated matters, I have to rely on other people. Throughout all my career I have been an honest person, responsible and respectful of my team-mates and the clubs that I have played for and the countries I have lived in.

“I reserve the possibility of action against those who have badly advised me by recommending something that was not right.”

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CIOT announce presidential team

Bill Dodwell, Deloitte’s Head of Tax Policy, has been announced as the CIOT’s new President. He is currently the Deputy President as well as chairing the Institute’s Technical Committee.

John Preston, the current vice-president, will be joining Dodwell, advancing to Deputy president. Ray McCann, a partner at New Quadrant Partners, will be the Institute’s new Vice-President. The team of Officers was formally approved by the CIOT’s Council at its January 2016 meeting. They will begin their new roles on May 10, 2016 and hold them for a year. Until then Chris Jones remains Institute President.

Bill Dodwell said: “It will be a privilege to succeed Chris Jones as President in May.  The CIOT’s role has never been more important in working to improve public understanding of the tax system and I look forward to continuing to work with the CIOT Officers and Council in 2016-17.”

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Brazil offers amnesty to tax evaders

The Residents of Brazil who have undisclosed assets in offshore accounts may be granted amnesty in exchange for a one-off charge.

International Investment flagged up this news. They reported how the amount will “attract a 15% tax and a 15% fine”, and also “all other tax owed will be written off”, according to Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). The deadline for declaration is 210 days from the Brazilian law’s enactment on 13 January.

Tax investigations partner Sean Walker told reporter James Fernyhough that the Brazilian tax amnesty scheme was reflective of the “ongoing global trend to raise monies from tax evasion, in order to shore up national finances”. 

Mariana Oiticica of BTGPactual was quoted by STEP, saying: “Taxpayers can regularise anything, and there will be no prosecution or investigation so long as (broadly) it doesn’t relate to corruption or drugs”. 

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Replies (3)

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By Scriptic
22nd Jan 2016 12:13

A law for the rich and another for the rest.

"Shoring up national finances" by allowing cases like this to pay in order to avoid serving a well deserved sentence is likely to create more problems than it is designed to cure.

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By mabzden
22nd Jan 2016 13:23

That's what happens...

...when you play for Liverpool...

The Spanish justice system sounds great. It's no wonder everyone "forgets" to pay their taxes...

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By Jekyll and Hyde
24th Jan 2016 10:06

I agree with mascherano statement completely

Perhaps it's time we started jailing those accountants, solicitors and indeed bankers, which have been peddling all these schemes.

He is correct, he is not a tax expert and have following instructions from the professional advisors. As a profession we are all happy to hide behind the banner, my client advised mmeto include, etc, etc rather that acting as professional accountants and saying "no" to such wrongful activities. 

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