Top clubs like Mega Three Star or Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi pay Rs 5 million to Rs 7 million per year in players´ salary but neither the clubs nor the players pay taxes to the government. These two are not the only examples, every club has the same story.[break]
“Clubs are surviving on donations from fans and public. We are at a primitive stage of managing professional football. The government does not seem to be concerned about the sports sector and because of this indifference perhaps we are unable to fulfil every duty,” said Lalit Krishna Shrestha, president of Three Star Club and ANFA vice-president.
A Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance said that the government agencies are paying less attention to collecting taxes from sports organisations and personalities since these entities are still in the primitive stage of modernday professional sporting.
“However, they have to pay taxes for their income and in case of awards whichever organization rewards them must pay the taxes,” said the Joint Secretary, requesting anonymity.
A first-class government officer earns around Rs 27,000 per month but some top class players earn Rs 50,000 per month while average players have a salary range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 during the league.
“The clubs are paying to players only token money. We are still not paying it as salary,” argued MMC office secretary Kumar Bhattarai.
Meanwhile, Shrestha argued that the sports sector has just begun growing and any tax burden either on clubs or players can hinder its development.
“A player can play for two to three years in his prime form and that is the only period to earn money. A player, who devotes his life to sports, can not earn more than Rs 300,000 to 500,000 in his career if he plays top-class football,” said Shrestha. “The logic of enforcing taxes on them is to upset players, who devote their life to sports,” he added.
However, the official of the ministry denounced Shrestha´s logic. “Either they should lobby for tax exemption for the players or they should pay the taxes as per the rules,” he said.
ANFA Vice-President Shrestha agreed that ignorance of law is no excuse and said they are ready to obey the government rules but also asked the government and the media to understand the plight of the Nepali sports sector.
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