Foreign Pride fighters vs. Japanese taxes

Several foreign mixed martial artists unknowingly failed to pay Japanese taxes, reports the Asahi:
They may have had no problems grabbing opponents’ necks, locking legs in submission holds or pinning rivals’ backs to the mat. But a number of top foreign fighters in the former Pride mixed martial arts battles could not grasp Japan’s complicated tax rules.
The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau examined the earnings of nearly 10 fighters and found at least five of them failed to pay a combined 20 million yen ($192,000) in consumption tax on their winnings between 2004 and 2006 , sources said Thursday.
The five included Mirko Cro Cop, whose real name is Mirko Filipovic, from Croatia, Brazilians Wanderlei Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Mark Hunt from New Zealand, according to the sources.
The five have filed corrected returns, the sources said.
In principle, Japanese promoters deduct income tax when they pay athletes of foreign nationalities.
However, foreign athletes are required to pay the consumption tax on their own if they earn 10 million yen or more a year in prize money and other income in Japan. Complicating the matter is the fact that the consumption tax is applied two years after that period, but the levies are made on earnings for the latest year.
Apparently the Japanese promoters of Pride (who have since gone out of business) failed to notify the fighters of the specific taxes they had to pay.
| Related Posts: |
|
Yutaka Fukufuji becomes the first Japanese-born hockey player to play in NHL Pay your taxes, or kiss your figure collection goodbye! |


PRIDE had great fighters and put on some great shows, but the more you hear about how it was run makes you realize just how bad the management was at times, so the fact that some fighters weren’t informed correctly about issues like this doesn’t surprise me.
Rate this comment:
0
0
How I miss Pride!
However, the latest Japanese MMA event ‘DREAM’ is created by some of the team that was involved with PRIDE and K-1. On Sunday 11th May, Japan will host the third DREAMS show.
It has so many hallmarks that made Pride the greatest MMA show on the planet. I hope it continues to grow.
Rate this comment:
0
0
I really doubt it’s in the contract that promoters or managers are supposed to inform fighters about how they should handle their personal taxes. It’s up to the person to know about the tax laws in the country or state they earn money. It’s the “foreign athletes” fault, nobody else.
Rate this comment:
0
0