Red card for tax violation: how Beckenbauer shocked Switzerland

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Franz Beckenbauer (†78), who died on Sunday, is remembered worldwide as a gifted ball magician – but in Sarnen in the canton of Obwalden he was also remembered as a financial juggler. In the late 1970s, the ’emperor’ moved his residence there. But here he caused not only much joy, but also a tax issue that would shock Switzerland, as the “NZZ” writes.

At the time, Beckenbauer was playing for the New York Cosmos in the fall of his career. He is said to have earned seven million marks in three years at the American club, making him one of the top earners internationally at the time. To save taxes, the world star bought an attic apartment in Sarnen. How much tax he had to pay remains secret to this day. Because of the rumors, it was only 20,000 francs per year, writes the “NZZ”.

Tax officials have turned a blind eye to too many people

Beckenbauer also becomes an investor. The “Franz Beckenbauer Tennis Center” was opened in October 1979. However, after only a few years the Germans moved on. In 1984 Beckenbauer moved to Kitzbühel (A).

It was only two years later that the tax affair in question began to brew. Internal audits at the tax authorities have shown that officials have paid too little attention to deals with wealthy newcomers. The federal tax authorities estimated the losses at 22 million francs – a huge amount for the canton of Obwalden.

Obwalden came under the tutelage of the federal government

In the mountain canton, the authorities would not have stepped on the gas when it came to solving the obscure cases. Ultimately, half of the Tax Authorities and several politicians were involved in the affair, the ‘NZZ’ reports. This prompted the then Minister of Finance Otto Stich (1927-2012) into action. Questionable tax practices have been a thorn in the side of the SP Federal Council for a long time.

Stich placed the canton of Obwalden under guardianship in 1986. The cantonal tax authorities were only allowed to deal with absolutely problem-free cases; the federal government took care of the rest. A one-off event that was not well received in Obwalden.

Beckenbauer also does not escape unscathed. He is co-owner of the company Heka GmbH, whose task is “the international exploitation of advertising rights, especially in the field of sports”. His partner wants to make the company liquid and tried to avoid paying tax on the resulting approximately 1.2 million francs for Beckenbauer. Assets were transferred to Obwalden via various stations to keep them safe from Munich’s tax authorities.

Sarnen would play a role again much later

The Federal Court rules at the end of 1986 as tax evasion. Beckenbauer had to pay significant additional taxes and a fine of 20,000 francs.

The chapter was closed for the “Kaiser”. It was not until 2016 that Obwalden would play a role in his life again: as head of the OC of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, known as the ‘Summer Fairytale’, he was the protagonist in a huge corruption scandal. This comes after “Spiegel” claimed that the bidding committee paid 10 million francs to buy the tournament which was awarded to Germany.

Research showed that in 2002 money from then Adidas boss Jean-Louis Dreyfus actually flowed to an account in Qatar. The hub for the transaction for the alleged purchase of votes was a law firm in Sarnen, writes the “NZZ”. After a few years of postponement, Sarnen’s tax office again became a stumbling block for Beckenbauer. (dba)

Source:Blick