The submission of the sale and purchase of athletes to the “value -added” tax depends on the “contract”

The Federal Tax Authority stated that the submission of the sale and purchase of sports players to the value -added tax, and the amount of 5%, depends on the shape, details and nature of the contract concluded between the player and the club, where each contract is studied separately.

She explained that the tax transaction of sports players depends on the contracts concluded between the club and the player.

The authority’s statements came in response to the inquiries of «Emirates Today», where the authority said in detail: “The tax transaction of players’ deals depends on the nature and details of the contract concluded between the club and the player, and the quality of the contract, and whether the player is considered an employee with the club, and the amounts he receives from the club in the form of salaries and allowances, or if the contract concluded is related to providing services from the player to the club, and each case is treated in this field according to this field according to this field according to this field. For its nature, in accordance with the decree of a federal law No. (8) of 2017 regarding the value -added tax and its amendments, executive regulations, and other relevant decisions, in general, the sale and purchase deals may be subject to value -added tax if the supply criteria subject to value -added tax are applied to them.

It is noteworthy that the application of value -added tax began in the UAE on the first of January 2018 with a basic rate of 5%, and includes most of the goods and services, with exemptions or zero rate for some of the main sectors, such as health, education and export.

The market value of the deals made by the clubs in the football game alone, according to the winter transfer market of the UAE league 2024-2025, reached about 141 million dirhams, while the value of Arab players joining several clubs in the ADNOC League reached 82.5 million dirhams.

The application of value -added tax, over the past seven years, contributed to diversifying the sources of government revenue, which provided more financial stability, expanded the opportunities for financing infrastructure projects and public services, enhancing transparency, and improved the status of small and medium enterprises that have become more literal in terms of accountability and legal commitment.

• Applying the value -added tax over more than 7 years contributed to diversifying the sources of government revenue, in order to expand the opportunities for financing infrastructure projects and public services.