The news that emerged towards the end of last year regarding the Growth Decree being scrapped for Serie A clubs is something that had a big impact on the planning for pretty much every team.
This morning’s edition of La Reppublica (via Calciomercato.com) demonstrates the examples of Theo Hernandez, Mike Maignan as well as Victor Osimhen, Adrien Rabiot and others. All are in the process of renewing or adjusting their contracts but the salary issue causes worries for their clubs.
For a full breakdown of how the Growth Decree works and why it is important for a club like Milan when it comes to signing players, you should check out our previous Substack piece on the issue.
The decree was limited last December by the Meloni government to remove its application to football but keep it for other ‘brains’ sectors. However, the new version of the Growth Decree is the subject of meetings and checks between the tax experts of the clubs and the consultants of the Serie A League itself.
Given that the legislation concerns those who have spent the last three years abroad, the first assessments are much less catastrophic than those which, four months ago, led many directors to foresee the end of competitiveness of Italian football when it comes to spending power on the market.
First of all, every player who arrived in Italy before 31 December 2023 would retain the right to the five years of preferential tax accrued, plus a subsequent three years, in the event of a further stay on Italian territory. Therefore, a contract renewal for someone like Maignan would still have the decree.
As for the new arrivals of 2024 from abroad, there are essentially three interpretative issues. The first is cultural: if before December 2023 the tax exemption was also applicable to all professional sport inpatriates, now a qualification is required: according to tax experts, at least a three-year degree.
A seemingly insurmountable barrier for Serie A players is the income threshold of €600,000 per year. Here the second issue comes into play, the family one: there would be ‘a reduction in the taxable amount of up to 60% if the worker moves to Italy with a minor child or in the event of the birth of a child, or the adoption of a minor’, specifies which, according to one interpretation, would also allow the income restriction to be overcome.
The third and final issue is real estate, with benefits ‘for a further 3 tax periods’ to those who have purchased ‘a property in Italy, used as a main residence, by 31 December 2023 and in any case in the 12 months preceding also transfer of registered residence in 2024’.
Without hypothesising about children or about backdating the purchase of a studio apartment in Milano by a player, one thing remains certain: Italian clubs want to continue saving on taxes given €21m combined was saved in taxes in 2023 by Serie A clubs.
For this reason, those who write the new contracts provide for ad hoc clauses: financial parachutes to be triggered for mutual protection (of the players, who do not want to see their net income reduced by unexpected taxes, but also of the clubs) if the legislator’s interpretation of the boundaries of the Growth Decree were to be unfavourable.
21MM only? This must be an error. There must be a 0 at the end of that number. 210MM saved makes more sense.
Without this discount tax ,No way italian club can compete salary . Serie A already dying and fallen below EPL,Laliga,Bundesliga . Without discount tax maybe just on same level with French league or dutch league
What has been achieved with the growth decree, Milan was kicked out of the Champions on the group stage twice over 3times, stop making this grow decree a weapon to compete with the elite clubs