Spanish
Madrid.- The National Court has ruled in favor of former Real Madrid footballer and current Bayern Leverkusen coach, Xabi Alonso, in the dispute he had with the Tax Agency for claiming 288,507.58 euros for not settling the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) of the payments received by his representative in 2012 from the club he was playing for at the time.
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The Treasury considered that the payments made by Real Madrid to its agent, under the contract signed with the club in November 2009, compensated for his representation services and, therefore, insofar as Real Madrid assumed its payment, those amounts should be considered fiscally as income from Alonso's personal work, who was the one who should have paid the representative for the services he provided.
"Consequently, in the regularization carried out, the Inspection attributes to the plaintiff, as personal work income, the remunerations that the Real Madrid football club paid to the company of the player's agent IDUBServicios Deportivos. "Specifically, 354,000 euros in 2012," resolved the Tax Agency.
Now, in a ruling, to which EFE has had access this Wednesday, the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the National Court has upheld the player's appeal against the resolution issued in 2021 by the Central Economic-Administrative Tribunal (TEAC), which in turn confirmed that of the Regional Economic-Administrative Tribunal (TEAR) of Madrid, and which approved the tax claim for not having paid taxes on the amount of 168,083.06 euros in the 2012 personal income tax (IRPF) settlement, and the subsequent penalty (120,424.52 euros), which totaled 288,507.58 euros.
"An excess" in the exercise of its faculties
The Court indicates that one of the grounds for the appeal consists of reproaching the Administration for "an excess" in the exercise of its powers, "by imputing to the player as work income the amounts that the club paid to the player's representative entity, on the grounds that the representative is the player's representative and acts in his name and for his benefit".
"Well - the ruling emphasizes - this is not the first time the Court has to try a similar regularization" and points out that, according to the doctrine established in this regard by the Supreme Court, "in this case too, the administration exceeded its authority", by classifying the payments to the agent by the club as employment income of the player paid by the club on behalf of the appellant.
Precisely, it was before the Supreme Court where Alonso avoided a claim from the Treasury for an alleged fraud of almost two million euros between 2010 and 2012.
In this case, the high court rejected the State Attorney's appeal against the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Madrid, which upheld the second acquittal of the former footballer from San Sebastian and that of two of his tax advisors for a crime against the Public Treasury for transferring the exploitation of his image rights to the company Kardzali, based on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Facts for which the Prosecutor's Office requested two and a half years in prison for Alonso and his two advisors.
