A court ruling that dates back to last July but that was made public in the last few hours determined that Alejandro Burzaco, former CEO of Tournaments involved in FIFA Gate, must pay the Income Tax for the benefits he obtained by paying bribes to obtain the Television rights for different football events. The payments, which Burzaco admitted before the United States justice system, generated income that is subject to tax, according to an argument by the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) that was unsuccessfully appealed by the media businessman.
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In May of this year, Burzaco was convicted in the United States for his participation in the corruption scandal known as FIFA Gate. The case centered on bribes paid to international soccer leaders. The former CEO of Torneos pleaded guilty in 2015 and collaborated with the investigation, revealing details of the corruption network in FIFA and Conmebol. He admitted to having made payments of more than USD 30 million to Julio Grondona, former president of the AFA. Judge Pamela Chen considered his collaboration as a protected witness and decided not to send him to prison, under the concept of “time served,” although he was found guilty of three charges.
The new ruling of the Argentine Fiscal Court of the Nation (TFN) that was now known, for its part, goes against the businessman’s intention to avoid paying a tax for benefits that were confiscated by the United States justice system. . The text understands and resolves that, as established by Argentine law, illegal acts are also subject to Income Tax. And that an attempt by Burzaco to compensate for the confiscation with an increase in its holdings of shares in Tournaments and Competitions has no relevance as a debt that offsets the illicit income.
FIFA Gate revealed the payment of bribes to obtain television rights for tournaments and involved the highest leaders of the organization (DPA)
The sentence can be appealed before the Chamber, but in general the courts demand immediate payment of rulings from this instance. There is a possibility that an injunction postponed it, but no information was released in this regard and the cases in which these injunctions are granted are rare.
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The AFIP thus began the audit in order to determine the debt in the Income Tax, within the framework of the case “Burzaco, Alejandro; Jinkis, Mariano Alejo, Torneos y Competencias SA, Full Play SA and others regarding Infraction of Law 24,769″ derived from the “FIFA Gate” case of the United States justice system.
According to the tax court, “the accused obtained profits, which were stolen from the knowledge of the Treasury.”
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In the tax case, Burzaco’s defense stated that he had made the decision to plead guilty before the North American judge for the charges against him, but stressed that it was not proven that he had obtained profits from the activities he carried out with said companies or that had paid such bribes nor obtained direct revenues for it, but that it had been a different legal entity (DATISA SA), from abroad. He also maintained that it was proven that Traffic SA of Brazil and Torneos – indirectly through their foreign subsidiaries Productosra de Eventos SA and Full Play SA – were the ones who had received the benefits from obtaining the contracts in question from FIFA, and that the information obtained by the AFIP confirmed that, although he had participated in the aforementioned maneuvers – as he had expressly acknowledged before the American justice system – he had not paid bribes with his own money or obtained profits from such a situation.
He also argued that the way in which the “confiscation” was expressed in the sworn statement presented, only confirmed that it generated a debt on the part of the company through which he intervened in the maneuvers (TyC SA) by applying the confiscation. on shares of the company of which the appellant had been the owner.
But the tax court did not give rise to Burzaco’s arguments, and insisted that the taxable event in the Income Tax had been voluntarily recognized in the declaration of admission of guilt. Also that the profits generated as a consequence of the exercise of illegal activities were not exempt from taxation, and losses were not allowed as a deduction. Lastly, in relation to the liability supposedly generated by the illicit maneuver, he understood that, although Burzaco had reflected as compensation for the debt it recognizes with the United States justice system an increase in its participation in the Torneos company, said increase did not correspond to an income of funds, but rather had the purpose of balancing the columns of the equity justification of its tax balance.
In summary, Burzaco is subject to the payment of Profits in the country for an amount yet to be determined but that arises from the USD 21.6 million confiscated by the United States Department of Justice.
2023-10-26 17:43:00
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