Clubs depreciating the book value of their players

[aka Dus]

when posters are arguing and trying to blind each other with financial/accounting science to prove their football knowledge (I know, I agree it IS totally fooked up).

 

But anyway, my question is - when clubs do this is it simply a balance sheet kind of calculation in giving the players a 'capital asset' value or is there any way they can write it off against tax?

 

The only reason I ask is cos of the law Berlusconi introduced in Italy that clubs couled write off player depreciation against their tax bill (and thereby saved Milan 200 million Euro or something).

 

Does the same possibility exist in the UK?

[Rimbeux]

Amoritization, or something like that, common practice. I think the Italian issue was that the government of Berlusconi allowed clubs to depreciate the value of their players over too long a time period for EU rules

[growler]

My understanding is, it works like depreciation. Yes, they can offset the depreciation against the profit of the club.

 

however, on the flip side, when the player is sold, he is invariably sold at a profit on his contract, and therefore you pay tax then.

 

for example, horseface. His contractual (and therefore papervalue) is 4million pounds, because of the depreciation. they then sell him for 10million, meaning they have to declare that as a 6million profit on disposal of an 'asset'

[aka Dus]

Thank you big brained boring accountancy people.

 

;-)