According to the latest report by Sami Mokbel, chief reporter of Daily Mail, Premier League stars were asked to provide "non-existent" evidence to prove their agents were involved in the transfer, part of a major retrospective tax repayment against players.
UK Revenue Service is investigating a series of historic transfers dating back to September 2018, hoping players will pay more fees related to broker commission , which could cost players millions of pounds more taxes.
The General Administration of Taxation and Customs requires players to record their brokers' participation in transactions through email, text messages and WhatsApp information, and record all transfer-related phone calls and communication details. This requirement has caused great dissatisfaction among the players and brokers. When a large number of investigated transactions occur, there are no guidelines allegedly stating that players and agents need to keep records or provide such information.
A person involved in an investigation by the UK General Administration of Taxation and Customs (HMRC) said: "They actually changed the rules of the previous dynasty to kill people now."
Considering that transfers are usually negotiated verbally, this means that the documents that can be provided to the HMRC are very limited - or in many cases there is no tangible evidence. The main focus of the HMRC investigation is to determine the role each agent plays in the transfer investigated — mainly whether the agent works only for the player or also represents the buyer’s team.
In most cases, the agent serves as a channel between the player and the buyer, which is often referred to as "take-all at both ends". In this case, the player and the team each are responsible for half of the broker commissions, which then incur taxes.
But HMRC is now seeking additional taxes, insisting that footballers — not clubs — get full benefits from contract negotiations. There is a feeling in the football world that HMRC intends to target players to make up for the economic gap caused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As time goes by, more and more players' families play an increasingly important role in the transfer, because at least as family members, some of the money they have taken out can still be returned.
