Like international bodies such as Unesco or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), FIFA will benefit from a privileged tax regime in France, according to information from the newspaper. The world of Monday. Just installed in the very beautiful Hôtel de la Marine on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, the annex of Fifa will be able to take advantage of it without being subject to corporate tax in France.
Founded in 1904 and first installed in France, the sports body moved its headquarters to Zurich in 1932. The return of part of its activities had been negotiated since the end of 2018 by Gianni Infantino and Emanuel Macron. Noël Le Graët, president of the FFF, has been appointed delegate of the president of Fifa for the Parisian annex and will represent him in Paris.
A simple reason explains this tax exemption. According to the elements collected by Le Monde, the activities of Fifa in Paris will be “non-commercial and non-profit” and therefore give it the opportunity to benefit from a privileged status in France.
If the body had for a time considered transferring its marketing activities to the capital, the risk of being forced to pay corporation tax would have put it off.
In Switzerland, its advantageous tax regime allows it to be taxed at a rate of only 12% on its profits, knowing that the company expects revenues of around 5.6 billion euros over the 2019 cycle. 2022, according to its latest financial statement for the year 2020.
“The annex (in Paris) has no legal status, the single legal personality being in Switzerland for the moment”, explained a source familiar with the matter. Fifa will advise later if it seems preferable, useful or necessary to do more. Therefore, there is no tax question on the structure of the schedule.”
70 employees in Paris
About 70 FIFA employees are expected to work in its Paris offices, particularly around the Forward development program and issues of governance and cooperation with African federations.
FIFA has negotiated with the Ministry of Economy and Finance that its employees have the status of “posted workers” which exempts them from paying tax contributions in France and allows them to remain under Swiss social protection status for two years. On the other hand, new hires for the Paris office will be subject to the French tax regime.
Fifa would have advised its employees not to stay more than 183 days on French territory so as not to be considered tax residents in France.
Still according to information from Le Monde, President Macron’s entourage is carrying out a work of “open reflection on the advisability, one day, of constituting a specific status for international sports organizations which do not have the status of an international organization”. , on the grounds that they “welcome national federations and not States”.
The Elysée also stresses that there is “no derogation for Fifa from the current rules which already allow it to carry out its non-profit activities”, without having to pay an additional social and fiscal cost in France.