Spanish soccer star Andres Iniesta requested a settlement of a tax row with Japanese authorities who said he failed to report hundreds of millions of yen in income.
He said his goal was to avoid double taxation.
In a statement released March 23, Iniesta, 39, who formerly played on Spain’s national team, said he filed a tax return in Spain for all his earnings in 2018, including the 860 million yen ($5.68 million) he received from Vissel Kobe.
According to sources close to the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau, Iniesta, who played for the J.League team for five years from July 2018, failed to declare about 860 million yen in income in 2018 and was told to pay about 580 million yen in back taxes.
Having paid tax in Spain, Iniesta said a demand for tax in Japan meant he was being slapped with double taxation. He requested an “amicable settlement” under a bilateral agreement to avoid double taxation.
The statement said the matter was being dealt with and that Iniesta hopes the overpaid tax will be refunded.
Under the Income Tax Law, foreign athletes pay only about 20 percent in income tax as a “non-resident” if they meet certain requirements, such as working under a contract covering less than a year and with no family members accompanying them.
But if they fail to meet one of those requirements and are deemed to be “resident” in Japan, they must file a tax return that could take up to 45 percent of their earnings.
The sources said that while the tax on Iniesta’s income in 2018 was deducted by Vissel Kobe as a “non-resident,” the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau concluded he did not qualify for that classification because he had been living with his family in Kobe.