1 Jul 2010MPs call for English Premier League grassroots tax

Football Finance News | Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

A group of MPs from across political divides have expressed support for a House of Commons motion proposing that English Premier League TV money is reinvested at the lower levels of the game.

Labour's Roger Godsiff, MP for Birmingham Hall Green, suggested media revenue has mainly benefited a handful of football clubs at the top of the English Premier League pyramid and that the organisation should do more to assist community facilities.

"There is a compelling argument for a windfall tax on television monies coming into football similar to the windfall tax that was levied on the privatised utilities after 1997," the motion stated. "The proceeds of such a tax should be ring-fenced."

Other signatories include left-wing Labour members Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, along with Conservative Peter Bottomley and Democratic Unionist Dr William McCrea.

Yesterday (June 30th 2010), former health secretary Andy Burnham criticised the "rampant commercialism" in the English Premier League in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live.

Written by Mark Thompson

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