Norfolk call to give FIFA tax breaks the red card 

As the world’s eyes remain on the football world cup, host country Brazil will lose up to £320 million in tax revenue because world football body FIFA insists on tax breaks for its large corporate sponsors. Norfolk Christians are being asked to back the campaign calling on FIFA president Sepp Blatter to end the practice.

FootballStock350Julian Bryant, Norfolk Coordinator for Christian Aid, said: “We may well feel disappointed that England have returned home ‘too soon’. Some say we have a poor defence. I believe FIFA should check out how its own defence of its rich corporate sponsors’ profits hurts those in need in Brazil while it still insists on tax breaks for World Cup sponsors.
 
Nelson Mandela once said ‘sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.’ This is true, sport can have this power. FIFA should seek to do this not just on the pitch but off it too,” said Julian.
 
Brazil will lose up to £312 million in foregone tax revenue to World Cup sponsors including McDonalds, Budweiser and Johnson & Johnson, according to a campaign by InspirAction, Christian Aid’s partner organisation.
 
“The price of these tax breaks for corporate giants will be paid by people living in poverty in Brazil and that is wrong,” said Julian.
 
Ms Ortigosa  from InspirAction said: “Brazil is already one of the most unequal countries in the world. The millions that FIFA demands for its sponsors should be used for the benefit of Brazil’s many poor communities, not to enrich the already powerful. The most conservative estimates suggest that Brazil’s Internal Revenue Service will lose about £145 million to tax breaks for World Cup sponsors, although some estimates suggest the loss could reach £312 million.
 
“This is money that should be used to help Brazil’s millions of poor families, for instance with better schools, hospitals and public transport, financial support for all communities affected by infrastructure projects and also through a fairer tax system.”
 
InspirAction has launched a petition calling on FIFA President Sepp Blatter to ‘give tax breaks for the World Cup sponsors the red card - and never impose these rules on World Cup host countries in the future.’
 
Julian Bryant has signed the petition and is asking the Christian community in Norfolk to do the same.