Football and 50%

Point taken about Tennis and F1 stars but what are the actual tax rules on players actually living abroad and flying in for matches, i accept that they would probably need to be in the UK the day before a match giving one night stay but for the top players this would mean

38 prem games
6 in fa cup
0 in carling cup
6 champions league

50 in total plus any internationals and any away games in england or scotland in champions league

Is this theoretic possible to allow only a 23% tax rate based on the above

they have to train with their clubs during the week so the 50 day thing a no no.
i have commented elsewher on image rights and how and why the taxman wants to tax them
in any case the FEU rules would apply in my view, hence all the ho ha about the ECup fiinal not comming to UK

on football side , its not all just kick the ball up field, thats simplistic and where is the evidence that we are turning in droves to La Liga or other european leagues

my point was to base the playing staff outside the uk and fly in for matches (ie train in monaco or wherever) and whether it would be possible to pay 23% tax, rich owners operate this way so why not the players

the FEU rules would apply , however a joker like ken bates does not unfortunately qualify as a foreign entertainer

As I understand it, all players these dates expect their weekly wage - be that £200,000 or a mere £40,000! - to be "gross" anyway. The issue is therefore that the clubs - with the exception, for now, of Manchester City - will have to pay even more in wages to make up the tax leakage at the 50% rate. In the current economic climate, that is getting harder to sustain - and that, more than anything, explains the fact that the EPL is not pulling in the big names so far.

If you analyse the big deals this Summer, the main driver is big egos and deep pockets - the real money has been paid by just two clubs - Real Madrid and Manchester City. Only one of those clubs has the cachet to attract the biggest stars. Barcelona's big "signing" was a straight swap deal with Inter Milan.

I have to take issue with the notion that the EPL is all kick and rush - that really does not pass even the most superficial scrutiny - the quality of the EPL as a product is evidenced by the the astronomical amount that foreign broadcasters continue to pay for the right to show live games. Coverage of the EPL in Singapore for example, is almost 24/7, and massively more than football from any other league in the world.

Personally, I'd rather watch the grass grow at the San Siro than the football played on it.

Seems to me that the exchange rates at the moment are more likely to be the cause of foreign players not wanting to come to the UK. A couple of years ago foreign players here could have converted their £100k pw salary into €145k pw now they will only get €115k - a drop of over 20% which is far more damaging than an increase in tax from 40% to 50%. There's also the same problem of clubs having to pay an extra 20% in transfer fees to get european players here whilst european clubs have the bonus of being able to pay 20% less to get players to go back. No doubt our SkyTV subs will be going up soon to compensate!!

I would suggest that the tax rate is another factor is deciding where to play, but not a determining one.

This summers activity is that of self promotion for Real Madrid (possibly to make up for the fact that they were very much in Barcelona's shadow last season) and a money no object approach by Man City given that they are compensating players through wages, for the fact that they are playing at a lower level (i.e. no European football in World Cup year.)

I think players go to certain clubs based on the likelyhood of success at that club. Also, the living conditions, which is where Spain scores highly, is another factor.

However, English clubs still have far more buying power than most European clubs and therefore the example of Real Madrid is an exception rather than the rule.

On the article itself though, I agree with the other poster, where is the evidence that fans are leaving the Premier League in exchange for La Liga? Finally, I am always a little skeptical about Deloitte's and their football reports.

An example if the oft quoted annual report for 2007/08 showing debt figures etc. They quote Chelsea as in £700m of debt and yet half of this was capitalised in a post balance sheet event. Surely this should have been noted in their figures? They seem happy to take a headline but underneath the figures aren't quite what they seem and someone, somewhere seems happy to let the myth perpetuate.