UNVEILED: How is Lionel Messi a ‘free man’ despite getting booked in a €10 million TAX FRAUD case?
The Argentinian ace was convicted of tax fraud in Spain.
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Lionel and Jorge Messi (The Sun)
Earlier in his footballing career Barcelona and Argentina legend Lionel Messi was booked for a huge tax evasion scandal that could see the maestro behind bars. However, he has successfully defended himself out of it and managed to keep his legacy clean. Here’s a look at what actually went down.
“I only worried about playing football,” said Lionel Messi to a Spanish Court. Messi was then facing charges of tax evasion. The then-Barcelona forward faced charges of hiding approximately €10 million from the Spanish Authorities earned from his Image rights. The Argentine forward was eventually convicted of hiding money from the Spanish watchdogs. It leaves the question of how is Messi not detained.
A player’s image rights reflect the player’s worldwide popularity. Essentially, clubs and sponsors pay for the right to use a player’s image in marketing efforts, which includes everything from his voice to his portrait to his name. To make things more complicated, image-rights revenue in Spain is taxed at roughly 20%, while income is taxed at around 43% (with some regional variations). Between 2007 and 2009, Messi and his father, Jorge Messi were found guilty of three charges of tax fraud for effectively using fictional corporations to dodge Spanish taxes on profits from enterprises that leveraged Messi’s image.
Revenues from Messi’s image rights were moved from businesses registered in his name in countries such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom to Belize and Uruguay, which did not tax enterprises’ international revenue and also enabled the beneficiary’s identity to stay hidden. As a result, money for Messi’s image rights flowed to his firms on paper, and then to him. Messi was directly revealed to make €50,000, which was a measly amount.
Messi pleaded unaware of the complex taxation system of the country. He also claimed ignorance about his finances and said that essentially that all of his financial matters were in the hands of his father. This defense was inadequate. Spain’s Supreme Court upheld the verdict against Messi and his father and commented, “It defies logic to concede that someone who earns a large income does not know that he must pay taxes on it.” This leaves us with an interesting question-
How is Messi a free man if he was convicted of tax fraud?
Non-violent offenses with a sentence of 24 months or less against individuals with no past criminal records do not result in prison time under Spanish law. Messi received just a 21-month suspended sentence that was reduced to a fine. Thus no prison conviction allowed Messi to call himself a free man.
The Argentine ace, although is liable to pay €252,000 ($288,000, £223,000), which equates to €400 every day of the sentence. Messi and his father Jorge were convicted of defrauding Spain of €4.1 million between 2007 and 2009. His dad’s 15-month sentence was commuted to €180,000 in penalties and suspended prison time.
Lionel Messi was penalized nearly €2 million, while his father was fined roughly €1.5 million. In August 2013, they made a voluntary €5 million “corrective payment” equivalent to the alleged unpaid tax plus interest. Messi has so paid close to €10 million in penalties to Spanish authorities.
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Here’s how other footballing names reacted to Lionel Messi’s Tax Fraud case
The footballing world showed a lot of solidarity with Lionel Messi, with many footballing greats coming to his defense. Following were the quotes of players defending Messi-
Neymar said, “I’m with Messi until the end. We are friends, and I am by his side. We are together on and off the pitch, and I know that he would never do anything wrong intentionally.” Luis Suárez chimed in, “I have seen Lionel Messi’s behavior up close for many years, and I know that he is an honest person. I believe in him, and I am sure that this situation will be resolved in the best way.”
Xavi Hernández was quoted saying: “Messi is an exemplary professional and an incredible human being. I have no doubts about his integrity, and I am confident that the truth will come out. He has my full support.” Sergio Ramos also commented: “Messi’s situation is delicate, but I know him well enough to say that he would never knowingly commit tax fraud. He is a role model on and off the field, and I believe he will overcome this.”
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Arpan Ghosh
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