ROME: Italy’s football players association expressed satisfaction on Friday at a government decision not to extend a tax relief measure benefiting foreign players on Italian teams.

Such players had benefited from a measure — also afforded to various university educated specialised workers — that allowed only half of their gross income to be taxable for their first five years working in Italy.

“Italian and foreign footballers will be able to compete on the same level,” the president of the Italian Football Players’ Association (AIC), Umb­erto Calcagno, said on Fri­day in a statement, a day after the government deci­d­ed not to extend the relief.

The previous benefit, he said, had penalised the entire national football movement.

“Finally, from Jan 1, Italian and foreign footballers will be in the same position, and I thank the government for this,” Calcagno added.

Sports Minister Andrea Abodi had been in favour of extending the tax break for footballers, but several other members of the government opposed it, including Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the anti-migrant League party, Matteo Salvini, according to Italy’s AGI news agency.

“Discounts to foreign footballers who earn millions are immoral, and clubs are now investing in young Italians,” wrote Lucca Toccalini, a League parliamentarian, on Thursday.

Ansa news agency said Italy’s Serie A league expressed concern over a measure it said would have “a result diametrically opposed to the one sought: less competitiveness for the teams resulting in less income, fewer resources for young people (...) and less income for the tax authorities.”

The measure, which is now due to expire on Dec 31, has been in place since early 2020 and was especially tailored to Italy’s Serie A top-flight football league.

Its phasing out means Italian clubs will not be able to rely on the tax breaks for foreign signings they make during the coming January transfer window.

Serie A, which had lobbied for an extension of the benefit, said the government’s decision would be counterproductive.

“Failing to extend [the measure] ... will in fact make the teams less competitive, resulting in a drop in revenues, fewer resources to be allocated to young players’ academies, reduced industry volumes and therefore less revenue for the [country’s] inland revenue,” it said in a statement.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2023