Not Completely Reporting, Former Barcelona Midfielder Iniesta Must Pay Tax Fines In Japan

Andres Iniesta has been accused of "promposing" of Binace on his social media accounts. (photo; twitter @andresiniesta8)

JAKARTA - Former Barcelona midfielder and Spanish national team Andres Iniesta had to pay a tax fine in Japan for not fully providing income reports to local tax authorities. According to the NHK public broadcasting agency as reported by AFP, Iniesta, who has played in the Japanese League for five years with the Vissel Kobe club, has not reported its revenue of 860 million yen (US $ 5.7 million) for 2018. "If foreign players are contracted for less than a year and they don't live with family members, then Japanese authorities consider the athlete to be non-resident and only pay less taxes than local residents," the report quoted the Japan National Tax Agency as saying. However, Osaka's regional tax bureau assessed that Iniesta was already a resident of living with family members during 2018. He was also under contract with the club for more than a year. As a result, Iniesta was subject to a tax fine of around 580 million yen. "In fiscal 2018, I reported my income from around the world to the tax authority in Spain,” Iniesta said in a statement issued by management. "Japanese tax authorities started the investigation with a focus on my population status based on tax regulations, and concluded that I was a resident (in Japan) for part of 2018,” he said in a statement reported by AFP on Sunday. "Iniesta has already paid the requested additional tax," the statement said. Osaka's tax bureau declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Kyodo news agency reported that South Korean goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon and Brazilian striker Patric also did not report revenue during their grazing in Japan. Kim was fined 220 million yen while Patric was 210 million yen.