New measures introduced by the French government to impose a super tax on those earning a salary of over 1 million euros at 75% have led to French clubs stating that they will go on strike in November in protest.
Under these new governmental measures it would be the companies and not the individuals who would have to pay the new tax at 75% on the section of the individual employee salary that exceeds 1 million euros.
The President of the Professional Clubs Union in France (UCPF) Jean-Pierre Louvel has stated that there will be a weekend without any games in France at the end of November. This will relate to matches in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, these being the top two tiers of football in France.
According to a recent study in France there are currently 115 players and 8 managers earning above the 1 million euro threshold. This amounts to an additional combined tax of 44 million euros. It is likely that the new system will mostly affect the current French Champions Paris St Germain. PSG are heavily backed by investors from Qatar and have recently signed a number of high profile players on large annual salaries. Initial figures suggest that PSG have 21 individuals earning over 1 million euros including manager Laurent Blanc.
Interestingly, Monaco will be exempt from the new tax as they are not bound by French taxation legislation. Monaco receive heavy investment from a Russian tycoon and have also shelled out large sums of money on players in recent months such as the signing of Falcao for approximately 60 million euros. Smaller teams such as Ajaccio and Guingamp have only one employee each over the threshold but will now have to shell out an additional 50,000 euros per year.
The initial hope amongst French football clubs was that they would be exempt but after protests from some high profile individuals the French Minister for Sport Valérie Fourneyron confirmed that it would be the companies rather than the individuals paying the tax. The UCPF now hopes to meet with the French President François Hollande amid concerns that players will now be deterred from playing in the country.
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