Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez
and Gerard Pique, among others, are being investigated by Spanish
authorities as per suggested reports . The Treasury, in particular, have
started to investigate the companies that manage the image rights of
players, that really would not do any activity.
15 percent of the remuneration of the club with the image rights of the
company can be earned by the players. But the IRS believes that "most of
the company created to manage image rights not involved in the actual
events. ".
But as of now, as per reports, Spanish tax authorities “for now has not
taken into account, under no circumstances, the tax offense”.
The Spanish national team hasn’t been doing quite well since their early exit
at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil this year. Both Xabi Alonso and Xavi
announced their retirement from the international circuit and Casillas has
been on the receiving end of criticism for his recent drop of form.
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has also been under the radar for his tax evasion
issue for a really long time now. The income related to Messi's image
rights, including contracts with Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola,
Procter and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company. The footballer and
his father are suspected of avoiding paying Spanish tax by using companies
in Belize and Uruguay to sell the rights to use Messi's image.