Ministry of Treasury and Finance detects tax evasion by football players

The Tax Inspection Board of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance has now set its sights on athletes. The board determined that some athletes, who are professionally active in various branches, left approximately 5.3 billion lira in income, in the nature of wages, undeclared. It was observed that the majority of the athletes who left their income untaxed consisted of football players. 310 athletes were invited to provide an explanation regarding the wage income they left undeclared for the year 2024. During this process, a football player playing in the Süper Lig whose contract with their club had expired filed their tax return before leaving the country upon the invitation to explain and paid 70 million lira in taxes.

4 THOUSAND 588 ATHLETES SUBJECTED TO RISK ANALYSIS

In the study conducted by the Risk Analysis Center of the Tax Inspection Board (VDK), the VDK took action following the expiration of the income tax return filing period in March and subjected 4 thousand 588 athletes, including football players, basketball players, and volleyball players, to risk analysis.

A comprehensive investigation was carried out regarding the athletes by scanning all information that would reveal their actual income, including open sources. In the study conducted, it was determined that athletes professionally active in various branches left approximately 5.3 billion lira in income, in the nature of wages, undeclared.

310 ATHLETES CALLED TO EXPLAIN

In this context, 310 athletes were invited to provide an explanation regarding the wage income they left undeclared for the year 2024.

It was observed that 3.7 billion lira of the risky earnings belonged to football players. Basketball players followed the football players with 1.15 billion lira in undeclared wage income, while the remaining portion consisted of the income of athletes active in other branches.

A FOOTBALL PLAYER PLAYING IN THE SÜPER LİG PAID 70 MILLION IN TAXES

Clubs were informed, taking into account that the foreign athletes on the list would leave Turkey at the end of the season. In this context, the steps that clubs will take regarding the notification of the invitation-to-explain letters and the informing of the athletes are important. Thus, it is aimed that athletes whose contracts have expired pay their taxes on the earnings they obtained in Turkey before leaving the country.

During this process, a football player playing in the Süper Lig whose contract with their club had expired filed their tax return before leaving the country upon the invitation to explain and paid 70 million lira in taxes.

UNPAID TAXES WILL BE DEMANDED WITH PENALTIES

Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek also pointed to the importance of voluntary compliance in the fight against the informal economy, stating, "In our work aimed at taxing those who earn a lot, we focused on athletes this time. We expect our identified athletes to provide an explanation and correct their declarations within the scope of voluntary compliance. Unpaid taxes will be demanded with penalties from athletes who do not fulfill the necessary obligations within the scope of the invitation to explain."