February 15 – FIFA operations in Paris will not be subject to corporate taxes and social security contributions.
The activities of the world federation in the French capital will be considered “non-commercial and non-profit-making” and employees from Zurich will not have to pay social security contributions in France for two years, according to French newspaper Le Monde.
In Zurich, FIFA is subject to a tax rate of 12%. New French employees in Paris will remain subject to regular social security contributions regulations.
FIFA will house 70 employees in their Paris annexe at the stately Hôtel de la Marine, which was renovated over four years in part thanks to €130 million funding from Qatar, the host country for this year’s World Cup.
In 2018, Emmanuel Macron and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino negotiated the return of the world federation to its roots. FIFA was founded in 1904 in the French capital before moving the headquarters to Zurich in 1932. In June, Macron and Infantino officially opened the Hotel de la Marine.
Rather than returning all operations to its historical roots, FIFA’s expansion is seen as part of Infantino’s vision for a global FIFA, though how moving part of the world federation’s operations from Zurich to the French capital addresses that need remains to be seen.
FIFA wants to use the Paris hub to strengthen ties with African member associations. FIFA has 11 regional development offices around the world, not all of them welcomed by the confederations in whose countries they operate as they often duplicate development work as they play the local politics in the regions.
However, the incentives offered by France will perhaps accelerate FIFA’s decentralisation. Infantino, who is under criminal investigation in Switzerland, has long felt unwelcome at home. He currently lives in Doha, Qatar, though FIFA said he pays his taxes in Switzerland.
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