Premier League owes taxman P1.9m
Mqondisi Dube | Friday April 25, 2014 12:01
Although he declined to confirm or deny the amount of tax owed, BPL boss, Bennett Mamelodi said yesterday that they had hired a consultant to look into the matter. “We have got somebody to look into the matter. Some of the issues happened before I came into office. But it is a priority, we are looking into it,” he said.
The tax owed was accrued mostly through television broadcasting rights after the BPL received millions from the state-owned, Btv. It is said BPL did not act accordingly after its application for a tax exemption was turned down.
“One of the BPL members advised that the league should not pay tax as it was supposed to be exempted. But upon further inquiry at the Botswana Unified Revenue Services (BURS), they were told that the BPL is liable to pay tax,” a source said.
The broadcasting rights money was VAT inclusive and the BPL sought exemption on this basis. “It was argued that the money already included VAT and the Premier League was running at a loss. It was like Btv had not paid VAT, which was not the case.
The then treasurer advised that the league stops paying VAT while it sought exemption.”
Meanwhile, BPL has been dragged to court over a long-standing P2.5 million debt it owes Pula Sports Marketing, a company it contracted to negotiate sponsorship deals.
The Botswana Football Association (BFA) has challenged the claim though its chief executive officer, Keith Masters refused to talk about the matter saying it is before courts. “We are challenging the figures, otherwise I cannot comment further,” Masters said.