By Todd Buell
Investigators searched the offices of Germany’s soccer association and the homes of current and former officials on Wednesday as part of a tax fraud probe, prosecutors in the German city of Frankfurt said.
The distinction between asset management and business activities is key for tax purposes. Katrin Gäbler, a tax adviser with the firm LPA-GGV in Frankfurt, told Law360 that while she couldn’t speak directly about the DFB case, in general the transfer of the right to use advertising space in sports facilities is treated as asset management, as long as the non-profit organization “does not actively participate in the execution and handling of the advertising business and the lessee has an appropriate profit.”
