Nomads feel the pinch

Mighty Be Forward Wanderers are now feeling the pinch of engaging four Nigerian players after tax authorities in the West African country demanded levy from the players’ salaries and signing-on fees, The Nation has learnt.

The Nomads are supposed to remit the levy from the perks of their expatriates Adekola Ayinla, Ebuka Fabian Ozochukwu, Amos Bello and Saheed Oluwa Shinaayomi.

Both Wanderers and Super League of Malawi (Sulom) confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.

Apart from the levy from the signing-on fees, the Nomads are expected to pay tax from the day they engaged the players, but Wanderers vice-chairperson Gift Mkandawire could not disclose how much is involved, saying the executive is yet to discuss the issue.

“Yes, we were informed about that. But we have not yet met as an executive so I cannot give you concrete information,” said Mkandawire.

Sulom general secretary Williams Banda said the levies the Nigerian authorities are demanding, are as per bilateral agreement between the two countries.

He said: “These are international agreements. If a foreigner is employed in Malawi he/she pays 30 percent Pay As You Earn [Paye] tax. The employer has the responsibility to collect 30 percent tax and half of it is remitted to the expatriate’s country.

“In case of the signing-on fees, the employer collects 20 percent withholding tax of which 10 percent will go to Malawi Revenue Authority [MRA]  while the other half goes back to the player’s country.”

Failure to remit the levy may result in the player losing work permit while the club can also be prosecuted for tax avoidance, according to Banda.

The development comes at a time when MRA is planning to civic educate Malawian clubs and players on their tax obligation.

Apparently, only institution-owned clubs such as Red Lions, Moyale Barracks, Kamuzu Barracks and Mafco [owned by Malawi Defence Force] and Civo United (owned by the government) and Malawi Police Service (MPS) side Blue Eagles are tax compliant.

Football agent Tom Brookes, managing director of International Football Management, was recently quoted by Thisismoney.uk, saying tax plays a big role where some footballers choose to ply their trade, particularly those approaching the end of their careers.

With top leagues like English Premier League (EPL) tax at 45 percent, players prefer to play in countries where they can pay less tax or even get away without paying tax, according to Brookes.  n