The United Kingdom is currently facing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic since at the time of writing this article close to 42,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 while more than 4300 people have lost their lives.
And during this time, almost all of the Premier League clubs have come out in support of the NHS with reports claiming that the players have been told to take a pay cut at the time of this crisis.
A number of big-name players have already donated money to various charities and the authorities are more than certain that the rest will also come out to help the United Kingdom government.
But now in a completely different statement, the Professional Footballers’ Association(PFA) have claimed that the players’ taking a pay-cut could cause the government massive damages as the United Kingdom might potentially lose around £200million in tax revenues.
A PFA statement on behalf of the Premier League players read, as reported: “All Premier League players want to, and will, play their part in making significant financial contributions in these unprecedented times.
“Going forward, we are working together to find a solution which will be continually reviewed in order to assess the circumstance of the COVID-19 crisis.
“The players are mindful that as PAYE employees, the combined tax on their salaries is a significant contribution to funding essential public services – which are especially critical at this time.
“Taking a 30 per cent salary deduction will cost the Exchequer substantial sums. This would be detrimental to our NHS and other government-funded services.
“The proposed 30 per cent salary deduction over a 12-month period equates to over £500m in wage reductions and a loss in tax contributions of over £200m to the government.
“What effect does this loss of earning to the government mean for the NHS? Was this considered in the Premier League proposal and did the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock factor this in when asking players to take a salary cut?”
Manchester United have been one of the first clubs to announce that their players will be donating 30% of their wages to local hospitals and health services after their captain Harry Maguire pitched this idea to his other teammates.
But surely this blow to the country’s tax revenues is something that many clubs and experts might not have thought about primarily since they have all been busy doing their bit to help the NHS.
The Premier League has already donated £20 million to support the NHS while many big clubs have opened up their stadiums for the use of the NHS and most of them are also making continued donations to various food banks in the United Kingdom.
