Stan A. Einstein wrote:DeePeeNCAFC wrote:Stan A. Einstein wrote:jonescmj1 wrote:DeePeeNCAFC wrote:
According to the UK Government website Revenue section: tickets for sporting events are exempt from VAT
Perhaps the 'many years ago' maybe the clue?
Stan - it’s all about the ancillary services being offered at these events - if the provider ( clubs, concert organisers, Grand Prix etc) provide a seat, access to toilets, refreshments, even a ticket etc then it’s a service being provided and subject to VAT at the 20% standard rate.
If, in theory, we were only given access to view a sporting event with none of the wraparound services alongside then a provider might tenuously be able to claim they’re not offering a service and ‘avoid’ paying the VAT, so maybe a firework display where the organisers sell entry for spectators to simply watch the fireworks from a field but with no car park, toilets, etc could get away with not adding VAT to the cost of the ticket.
Even the players themselves are subject to VAT! This is because we don’t buy the player from another club we actually buy their playing registration which is subject to VAT. So when Man City bought Grealish for a reported £100M it actually cost them £120M with the extra £20M being VAT, which Aston Villa declare to the VATman and City reclaim.
All of this is one reason why HMRC pays extra attention to ‘players signed for undisclosed fees’ or where a club tannoy announcement says the attendance at a game was 2500 but the fans all know there was nearer 4000 watching and the extra (undeclared) fans weren’t all corporate/staff tickets.
If the civil service ‘code of conduct’ didn’t prevent me from doing so, I could tell some amazing tales about one football league manager who would (literally) offer certain new signings ‘a wheelbarrow full of cash’ as an undeclared signing-on fee, and other tales about multiple PL players and managers who are having to repay £millions in tax because their accountants sold them the benefits of a certain tax avoidance scheme