Kieran Maguire issues Cristiano Ronaldo HMRC claim amid Man United investigation
Man United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is one of only a handful of Premier League players who can attribute a large chunk of their salary to image rights and therefore be taxed at a lower rate.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about HMRC’s crackdown on tax avoidance in the top flight.
The Daily Mail reported (9 July) that 329 Premier League players are being investigated for suspected tax avoidance.
Several individual clubs and agents are also understood to be under the microscope.
United themselves were subject to an HMRC investigation in July last year, per The Mirror at the time.
Wantaway Ronaldo, 37, is among the very top earners in the Premier League.
Maguire explained the intricacies of the tax system with regard to image rights and why the legendary Portuguese forward will see his earnings through this avenue taxed at a lower rate.
“A lot of it has got to do with two main areas,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“First of all, there is the use of image rights. If you are Cristiano Ronaldo or Harry Kane, you have a high profile and your image rights are very lucrative.
“That’s not the case universally in the Premier League. HMRC would normally say they will allow up to 20 per cent to go to your image rights, which are taxed at 19 per cent rather than 45 per cent.
“However, it’s more complex than that because the profits of the image rights company are taxed at 19 per cent but when the image rights company then pays the player, the player is taxed again. So, it is a complex issue.
“There are also concerns around agents. When a club pays an agent, should some of that be allocated to the player as a benefit in kind? If that’s the case, should the player be taxed 45 per cent on that?
“HMRC has a duty towards the public purse to make sure the system is not abused. I don’t think football is any worse than any other industry.”
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