Recently the Serbian Minister of Finance Sinsia Mali has come out and claimed that KK Partizan owes 25 million euros in taxes. This comes week after the teams annual budget was announced to be 6 million euros.
Mali pointed out that the club received 24.4 million Euros from the state over the last 10 years from sponsorship agreements. He claims this problem is an, "inherited problem that has been going on for decades" and is calling for change within the industry. He concluded his statement with a strong claim that, " the problem is that it has become a habit to owe the state as much as you want." It will be interesting to see how KK Partizan responds to these claims and wether or not FIBA will investigate.
Source: https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/en/mali-klubovite-partizan-i-crvena-zvezda-dolzhat-25-milioni-evra-za-danok/
Questions: What course of action do you believe is best for this financial situation?
I'd like to see some repercussions. In an age of corruption across the football world, it seems that this is the only way to make any real change in the sport based on finances. I want to see accountability, something expected of every other industry except for sports. Pay taxes, or lose assets. That's what the government does with literally everyone else but sports teams and banks. Sports teams don't deserve to be an exception.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is fair if there is some sort of punishment for KK Partizan. Although they claim that these taxes are not the fault of the current owners and that it was an inherited problem, it is still something that warrants punishment.
DeleteI think it is only fair for there to be some sort of punishment. A team should not be allowed to avoid taxes without any repercussions, as it incentivizes all teams to do so. It isn't an excuse to say that it is an inherited problem when in reality, the debt still has not been paid off. We have seen this happen a lot in football, specifically with Barcelona and Real Madrid, and it would be a shame if this transferred over to the basketball world.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It will be interesting to see if the punishment comes from the local government, the league, or a combination of both.
DeleteIt's clear that the issue of unpaid taxes needs to be addressed, as it is unfair to taxpayers who are fulfilling their own tax obligations. KK Partizan should work with the Serbian government to resolve this issue, whether through a payment plan or other means. It is also important for Euroleague as a whole to address these financial issues and work towards a more sustainable and responsible financial system. Ultimately, transparency, accountability, and responsible financial management are key to the long-term success of any organization, including KK Partizan.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Euroleague should also step in to address these issues. Similar to how it works in Soccer, I believe that KK Partizan should receive some form of punishment within the league due to this, likely being a points deduction.
DeleteI think the fact that they have that amount of unpaid taxes and it has been occurring for so long that an investigation should ensue. Due to their small budget and the large amount of taxes, I think they should come into an agreement in scheduled payments that allows the government to get their money back while also still being able to fund the team. I think FIBA should also step in and provide some regulation to make sure that this is not an issue that is occurring in different countries with different clubs as well.
ReplyDeleteIt will be very interesting to see if a financial plan can be devised that will result in the payoff of the taxes and allow KK Partizan to have the necessary budget to continue thriving.
DeleteI think there is definitely consequences necessary here in order to prevent situations like this occurring again in the future. It seems like this has been an ongoing issue for the team and the industry, so maybe there is a larger problem at hand. I am confused though as to if the problem Mali is referring to is just referring to this team or the league as a whole.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is the problem that Mali is referring to is just related to KK Partizan and not the entire league.
DeleteI think the team should be punished for not paying the debt owed to the government. If teams think that they can get without following the rules of the league, what is stopping every team from doing the same. These off-the-court financial issues can really be a detriment to the players and coaches trying to play the game. When a team has front office issues, it trickles down to the rest of the association and can really harm the club. For the sake of fairness, I think the team should be punished for their actions.
ReplyDeleteI agree. However, it will be interesting to see how a punishment can be constructed that will allow KK Partizan to still be financially viable in the coming years.
DeleteAs we learned, sports franchises operate just like any other business. Thus, I believe that the same tax regulations should be applied to them. From the perspective of KK Partizan, I believe it is important to continue diversifying their revenue streams to increase their annual budget. Having headlines such as this can cause off the court issues that majorly affect the performance of the team.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the off the court issues of this situation could cause an impact to the performance of the team and therefore should be addressed immediately. I feel it's important for KK Partizan to claim responsibility for this issue and work with the government to find a solution.
DeleteTeams must be held accountable. As we seen and discussed, Man City was able to escape punishment for their financial errors which brings up the question if the people at the top want to avoid punishing the teams because it could lose money for them. I have not noticed this much with American teams so I will be curious to see how it all plays out.
ReplyDeleteI think the Man City example was definitely a good comparison but might be a bit on a different scale. Man City has a much larger amount of resources in comparison to Partizan. I think that with some EuroLeague teams already struggling with resources that may be one reason some of the higher ups are reluctant to investigate.
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