China Imposes New Tax On Foreign Transfers

China has imposed a new ‘100% tax’ on transfer fees for foreign footballers, signalling a possible end to big money signings, according to media reports.

Under the new rules, loss-making clubs will have to pay the same amount again into a domestic development fund, effectively doubling the cost of importing talent from abroad. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) says the money will be used to train young players, and warned Super League clubs to consider the development of Chinese football.

The move is an attempt to tackle the multi-million pound signings of foreign players in recent years, and the perception that the country’s football spending was spiralling out of control.

Carlos Tevez moved to Shanghai Shenhua on a reported £71.6m deal in December, with Chelsea’s Oscar signing for rivals Shanghai SIPG for an estimated £52m.

Mark Dreyer, founder of China Sports Insider, explained: “There’s a lot of money, excessive money, being spent on these foreign imports.

“It’s not really helping Chinese football, so the intention is to stop that extraordinary spending. The intentions behind the rules are pretty good, and pretty honourable.”

China’s president, Xi Jinping has said his ambition is for the country to host, and ultimately win, the World Cup.

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