According to a report, the DFB has evaded several million euros in taxes, the association is fighting back. However, coming to terms with the recent past will be expensive: the DFB has to set aside around 46 million euros. Also because the loss of non-profit status for two years is approaching.
The financial sins of the past are catching up with the German Football Association. The world’s largest sports association is threatened with the withdrawal of non-profit status for the years 2014 and 2015 and with it a back tax payment in the tens of millions. The association has been accused by the tax authorities of tax evasion in connection with income from perimeter advertising in the years in question, the DFB itself announced.
Due to other tax-relevant events from the time before President Bernd Neuendorf took office in March of this year, the DFB has to build up reserves totaling more than 46 million euros, which will lead to a minus in the double-digit million range in the balance sheet for 2021 . This was announced by DFB treasurer Stephan Grunwald at a press conference.
Of the good 46 million euros in reserves, 16.8 million euros related to the issue of “allocation of the transfer of name and logo rights to Adidas”, 3.3 million euros to the issue of “evaluation of entertainment costs” and 26 million euros to the issue “Threatened deprivation of non-profit status for the years 2014 and 2015,” reported Grunwald.
According to information from “Spiegel”, the DFB was informed by the tax authorities that “extensive factual findings on particularly serious tax evasion” had been found during a major raid on the association’s headquarters and in the private apartments of former top officials two years ago. In 2014 and 2015, the DFB evaded a total of 3.4 million euros in corporate and trade tax.
The DFB rejects the allegations. Grunwald emphasized that no incorrect information was given in the tax returns at issue. All income from the perimeter advertising was duly taxed. Nevertheless, the association must assume at this point in time “that we will be deprived of our non-profit status for 2014 and 2015,” he said. In this case, the DFB would have to pay 26 million euros in taxes. “But the DFB is not threatened with insolvency. The association has liquid funds in the three-digit million range,” said Grunwald.
The tax authorities are also critically questioning the assignment of the transfer of the name and logo rights of the DFB outfitter Adidas to the tax-free asset management. The legal question is very “very difficult”, according to the DFB. What is undisputed, however, is an error in the previous assessment of entertainment costs. In this area, “necessary off-balance-sheet corrections of these costs unfortunately partly failed to materialize,” the association said.
On the other hand, the DFB hopes to be reimbursed for a back tax payment of around 22 million euros made in 2017. Because of this, the association is taking legal action before the Hessian Finance Court in Kassel against the deprivation of non-profit status for 2006 that took place at the time and the tax assessments that the tax office therefore changed.
The DFB had been accused by the tax authorities of having wrongly claimed a payment of 6.7 million euros to the world association FIFA for the organization of a World Cup opening gala in 2005 as an operating expense. Because of the process, the public prosecutor had been investigating former DFB officials for years. The process was discontinued last week. “The tax procedure is independent of the criminal tax proceedings that have been set up,” said Grunwald.
The DFB had already lodged an objection with the Frankfurt tax office in 2017. According to Grundwald, this was rejected in August of this year, although no evidence had been shown that tax evasion had taken place. “But the authorities should have done this,” emphasized the DFB treasurer. “We are still firmly convinced that the DFB was wrongly deprived of its charitable status for 2006 and are now unfortunately forced to sue for our rights in court,” said Grundwald. Should the lawsuit be successful, there would probably be almost two million euros in interest on top of that for the DFB from the tax authorities.
