Posted In: Lionel Messi may have just been named the most valuable player at the World Cup in Brazil but that is unlikely to soften the blow of having to pay Spain's largest tax bill
Lionel Messi may have just been named the most valuable player at the World Cup in Brazil but that is unlikely to soften the blow of having to pay Spain's largest tax bill — a whopping €53 million ($71 million)On top of that €53 million, the FC Barcelona star could also have to pay an extra €3 million on undeclared advertising and sponsorship earnings for the years 2007 to 2009.
The huge sum paid by Lionel Messi this year covers taxes on his salary, as well as on his assets and advertising deals. It also includes €22.4 million in outstanding tax for 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Over the past seven years, the Argentina captain has paid more than €100 million to Spain's tax office, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia reported.
This amount has increased proportionally to the player’s income.
According to the business magazine Forbes, Lionel Messi earns more than €48 million a year from salary and sponsorship, making him the fourth highest-earning athlete in the world.
He’s also the highest-paid football player with a €20 million annual salary, ahead of Real Madrid’s player Cristiano Ronaldo.
Last year, Lionel Messi and his father were accused of defrauding the Spanish tax office of over €5 million ($7 million) but cleared the tax debt before a court appearance.
Named 'businessman of the year', José Mestre headed Barcelona's biggest port container operator before being charged with smuggling 186 kilos (410lb) of cocaine. The Local looks at his fall from grace and takes a sneak peek at his impressive mansion, Barcelona's most expensive.
Fifty-seven-year-old Mestre was once the toast of the town, his company Tercat managing two container terminals at Barcelona’s busy port.
In June 2010, just months after receiving the accolade, Mestre was arrested after Catalan police found 186 kilograms camouflaged in one of his scrap metal containers, Spanish national daily El País reported.
Police surveillance found Mestre had been holding talks with an international drug ring for several months.
Four years on, Spain’s High Court found him guilty of drug trafficking, sentencing him to 12 years in prison and slapping him with a €14.6 million ($19.76 million) fine.
As the tycoon turned drug villain is not yet behind bars, he’s taken the time to try to sell off one of his most prized possessions: a 2,500sqm (27,000 square feet) property described as “an architectural jewel from the 1920s”.
The money raised via the sale will be used to pay off Mestre's obligations, including mortgages he holds with banks.
Spain’s biggest home sale and rental website Idealista has posted an ad for the opulent property, located in Barcelona’s Pedralbes neighbourhood,The €30 million mansion is split into two buildings, which have a wine cellar, gym, garage with space for 12 vehicles, pool, nine bedrooms, seven bathrooms and even a watchtower.
Posted In: Wildfires ravage Spain villages
100 firefighters backed by planes and helicopters battled a blaze in scrubland near the town of Bustares in the central province of Guadalajara, east of Madrid, the regional government said. The blaze, which was accidentally started by a beekeeper, forced the evacuation of 140 people from two villages, it added. The wildfire has destroyed around 200 hectares of land, including part of the Sierra Norte national park. More firefighters aided by water-dropping aircraft fought another blaze raging near the town of Cogolludo, also in Guadalajara province. This fire, accidentally sparked on Wednesday by a combine harvester, saw 40 people evacuated from two villages. The blaze has so far destroyed over 800 hectares of scrubland and pine forest. High temperatures, strong winds and low humidity levels were fuelling the two wildfires, officials said.
Posted In: The TOWIE cast returned to Marbella last night as The Only Way Is Marbs made a typically explosive comeback.
And if the TV show has got you itching for a holiday to the Spanish resort, Lauren Pope has given us an exclusive run-down of her favourite nightspots.
The TOWIE beauty is a huge dance music fan and is currently promoting the show’s first ever CD; The Only Way is Marbs: Marbella Anthems.
Stars from the show including Lydia Bright and James 'Diags' Bennewit attended the The CD’s launch party at The Brickyard in Essex on Friday.
Lauren Pope's holiday tips: TOWIE star picks out her best nightspots exclusively for Travel Mail readers
Day and night: The terrace at luxury beach club Nikki Beach stays open until late
Lauren said: 'I’ve loved working on this album - from the track selection to the mixing, it’s been an amazing experience.
Posted In: Magaluf puts 50-person limit on pub crawls
The local mayor announced the new legislation today after a video surfaced last week showing sex acts being performed by a young British holidaymaker at a club night called Carnage. The resort’s reputation has been steadily deteriorating for years, but recent revelations about bars and clubs where tourists are encouraged to get drunk and engage in sexual behaviour in public proved the tipping point. Manuel Onieva, the Mayor of Calvia, a region including Magaluf, said the new law was an expression of his “total rejection and anger at the activities which were carried out in a video which is currently on the social media circuit.” In an attempt to clean up seedy bar crawls, any company wanting to operate one in the area will now need to apply for a licence through the town hall. In order to be granted a licence they will have to “prove their responsibility and show that they have the appropriate civil insurances in place,” the mayor said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
