Taxable Talk

Football–well, soccer for us colonials–is a big business. Lionel Messi is one of the world’s best players. The Spanish tax agency, Agencia Tributaria, accuses Mr. Messi (and his father) of evading €4.16 million of tax on his image rights. Mr. Messi says he just did what his father, Jorge Messi, said to do.

The trial of the two begins tomorrow in Barcelona; Lionel Messi is on trial even though prosecutors asked that the case against him be dismissed (the judge refused). The court will have to decide whether the Messis used a web of interlocking phony companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid paying tax in Spain. Lionel Messi has made a protective payment of the tax.

The trial is expected to conclude this week. Both defendants face up to 22 1/2 months in prison and fines of up to €4.16 million.

Football Soccer star Lionel Messi injured his thigh in yesterday’s game against Almeria (a game his team won, 2-0). Messi will miss two to three weeks with the injury.

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi and his father are accused of something more familiar to readers of this blog: cheating on their taxes. Messi is alleged to have created shell companies in Uruguay, Belize, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom to hide income (his image rights) from Spain and the Spanish income tax agency, Agencia Tributaria, from 2006 through 2009. The UK Telegraph reports that Messi and his father have made a five million euro “corrective payment.”

A judge will rule on whether to dismiss the charges or impose a fine. If found guilty, the maximum fine he could face is €24 Million (just over $31 million at today’s exchange rates) and potentially five years in prison.