France?s 75% tax on the wealthy will harm its domestic football, a key source of the famous French pride
It is unusual for a national-level policy to affect the sporting fortunes within a country, especially when the law in question doesn?t specifically have to do with sports. But that?s exactly what is going to happen in France, thanks to a super-tax imposed by the country?s Socialist President, Fran?ois Hollande. The 75% super-tax was earlier to be imposed on individuals earning more than 1 million euros, which created an uproar in the country. Law firms were reportedly inundated with calls from wealthy French individuals asking whether they should simply move out of the country to avoid the tax?in fact, noted French actor G?rard Depardieu has already done just that, leaving France for Belgium. French PM Jean-Marc Ayrault recently clarified the government?s position on the tax, with his office saying that the tax would be imposed on ?all businesses that pay salaries of more than 1 million euros (a year)?. This includes football clubs, which is where the impact on sports comes in. The hardest hit will be the Paris Saint-Germain football club, France?s wealthiest?it has at least 12 players, including talents like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who are paid more than 1 million euros a year. But, as the head of France?s football association Fr?d?ric Thiriez claims, most of the other clubs will be similarly affected. According to him, this new tax will cost first division teams 182 million euros a year.
This, in turn, will mean that these clubs will refrain from paying such high salaries, which will result in an exodus of high-quality players from the country, and a marked reluctance of foreign players to play in France. The extension of this phenomenon will be the fall in quality of France?s domestic football leagues?and the resultant fall in advertising revenue.