The icon is condemned for advertising vacuum cleaner nozzles
Tomas Brolin has for many years advertised nozzles for vacuum cleaners.
Now the court has judged that he engaged in tax evasion and must pay around six million kroner.
– I am very surprised, says Brolin.
During the 90s was Thomas Brolin one of Sweden’s best soccer players. After the active career, the 53-year-old has mainly become known for vacuum cleaner nozzles. In campaigns, television programs and later social media, he has marketed products for a company he was a board member of.
Brolin has also signed mouthpieces that have been sold. Under the company’s auspices, he has accompanied the winners of a competition to Paris and he himself has gone to Italy and South Africa to sell the product.
But formally he has not been a co-owner, but has had financial interests in the company through a capital insurance in Bermuda and a holding company in Cyprus. In this way, he has been able to convert service income into tax-free withdrawals.
Contrary to the purpose of the legislation
But the arrangement has attracted the Tax Agency’s interest. They mean Brolin has been “operating on a significant scale” in the company and that his work effort has been of great importance to the generation of profits.
Therefore, they believe that his income between the years 2014 and 2018 should be greatly increased.
– We thought it contradicted the purpose of the legislation and submitted a petition for application of the Tax Evasion Act. The Administrative Court shares our opinion and determines that Brolin’s income from service must be increased by SEK 11,933,683 and income from capital by SEK 373,542 for the years 2014 to 2018, says Markus Pettersson, the Tax Agency’s litigator.
The court doesn’t buy Brolin’s argument
On Monday, the Administrative Court in Uppsala announced its verdict. They follow the Tax Agency’s line and state that Tomas Brolin engaged in tax evasion. The result means that, roughly calculated, he must pay SEK 6 million in extra tax.
The administrative court writes that Brolin, despite the arrangement with the holding company and capital insurance, during the years in question was to be regarded as the indirect owner of half the company. The fact that Tomas Brolin himself claimed that the posts in social media were not made by him personally, but by people hired by the company, does not change the assessment.
Tomas Brolin has two months to appeal to the Court of Appeal. When Sportbladet reaches the hero from the 1994 WC, he is tight-lipped but clear about what the next step is.
– I can’t say much, but we will appeal this. I didn’t really believe in this outcome, he says.
Do you think you will win if you appeal?
– I thought I would win now too. But what I think doesn’t matter.
How difficult would it be to pay an extra six million kroner in taxes?
– I have no comments on that.
Do you own six million kroner?
– I have no comments on that either.
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