The Dutch football association KNVB is considering taking legal steps against the state because of the imposition of extra taxes to deal with the government deficit, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Friday.

In particular, the association says the sudden imposition in 2012 of an extra 16% tax for incomes above €150,000 is ‘improper management’. the FD says.
The tax rise is part of a number of austerity measures the cabinet agreed before the summer. The extra tax will be paid by the employer and not by the employee.
According to the association, the 36 professional football clubs will cost it €50m on a total budget of €450m.
Squeezed
‘We feel squeezed by the government,’ KNVB financial director Ron Francis told the paper. ‘Just when the clubs had finalised their budgets for the new season, this crisis tax rise comes along. Compared with multinational companies, relatively few people earn over €150,000 in football. In addition, the tax does not hit the players and coaches but the clubs,’ he said.
Francis thinks the rise should have been delayed a few years. ‘That would give the clubs more time to cut back on salaries and make more cuts in expenditure,’ he told the FD.
The association and the clubs are currently lobbying parliament to have the tax rise overturned. If this does not happen after the election on September 12, the KNVB plans a civil case against the state.
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