First division football clubs have begun complying with their tax obligations following strict recommendations, guidelines and an ultimatum from the Tax Department.
After months of debt issues and the reinstatement of APOEL, Apollon, Anorthosis and Ethnikos Achnas into the government debt settlement scheme, all participating clubs met their obligations for the first time in several months.
The clubs paid the instalment determined by the relevant department for June, whilst some that had previously been non-compliant deposited post-dated cheques until year-end to ensure immediate payments without delay.
Twelve-year repayment plan
The four controversial clubs must repay all debts in 145 instalments over twelve years following their reinstatement into the scheme, with one payment already made.
The original 2023 scheme provided for 168 instalments with a 14-year repayment horizon until 2037.
Total tax debts of all clubs to the state exceed €30 million, whilst social insurance debts exceed €10 million.
For tax department debt settlement alone, APOEL must pay €75,000 monthly for twelve years under the new plan. APOEL’s total tax debts reach €11.6 million, whilst social insurance debts were €4.3 million, leading to the criminal prosecution of eleven club executives.
APOEL has paid a small portion of social insurance debts.
Club-by-club breakdown
Apollon paid €26,000 last month towards total tax debts of €3.8 million. Full settlement of Apollon’s tax debts through the scheme will take twelve years. Apollon’s social insurance debts are estimated at around €2.5 million.
Anorthosis paid €22,000 last month towards tax debts of €3.2 million. Anorthosis also has outstanding social insurance debts of around €1 million, with former and current board members facing criminal prosecution.
Ethnikos Achnas paid €8,000 in June, an amount it will pay monthly for twelve years to settle total tax debts of €1.2 million. Ethnikos Achnas also has social insurance debts.
Clubs clear debts
Other football companies that did not create new tax debts in recent months are paying instalments agreed in May 2023 normally.
Pafos has fully settled tax department debts of €1 million. The Council of Ministers recently approved tax relief provisions, as it did with other clubs.
Aris Limassol has repaid tax department debts of €435,000 and awaits related approvals from the Council of Ministers.
AEL’s club has settled all tax department debts, whilst AEL’s company has joined the overdue tax debt settlement scheme with instalments. The relevant department previously pursued criminal prosecution of former AEL company executives.
