According to The Times, UKIP leader Keir Starmer on Tuesday vetoed the
England Premier Soccer League
Signed Player Levy
transfer tax
The proposal. It comes after Conservative MP Tracey Crouch made recommendations in her fan-led review of soccer that included a 10% transfer tax on transfers to be used to fund soccer pyramid building.
For its part, Labor has said it will look into Crouch's report. However, in an interview on LBC radio, Starmer made it clear: "Let me nip that in the bud, we're not going to consider that." Nonetheless, Starmer did mention that he would seriously consider the other recommendations in the report.
Asked if he would consider regulating ticket sales, Shadow Culture Secretary Debonair responded, "We will consider it, ticket sales are obviously an important part of revenue and clubs have their range of revenue-generating models in that regard."
The proposal for a 10% transfer tax has previously been opposed by a number of Premier League figures including Premier League CEO Richard Masters and West Ham United vice-chairman Baron Brady. Commenting on this, Debonair said, "We will be scrutinizing everything in the Tracy Crouch report to make sure nothing is missing and to ensure financial sustainability. We have been working to bring in the Football Administration Bill but the government has abandoned measures in this area so this will be a Football Administration Bill that belongs to the Labor Party."
The Premier League clubs, for their part, are currently refusing to vote on a proposal to provide an extra £125 million a year in funding to the Championship. If no agreement can be reached, the regulator will be given back-up powers to enforce a financial settlement. Some Premier League clubs actually support the transfer tax as well, as no agreement on a funding package would be required to fund the lower leagues under that model.
Others want the regulator to impose restrictions on rules regarding club ownership, as the Premier League has clubs like Newcastle and Manchester City that are owned by state-related entities. However, the Labor side was not willing to talk about this aspect of the issue, with Debonair saying, "I think it's important that the clubs are owned by the right people and that requires certain rules."
