Brazilians pay high price for World Cup sponsor tax breaks

FIFA must end its ‘obscene’ insistence on World Cup host countries giving tax breaks worth hundreds of millions to the event’s corporate sponsors, a new campaign is urging.

Brazil will lose up to £312m in foregone revenue to World Cup sponsors including McDonalds, Budweiser and Johnson & Johnson, according to the campaign by InspirAction, Christian Aid’s Spanish organisation.

"The price of these tax breaks for corporate giants will be paid by people living in poverty in Brazil and that is obscene," said Isabel Ortigosa of InspirAction.

"Brazil is already one of the most unequal countries in the world. The millions that FIFA demands for its sponsors should be used for the benefit of Brazil’s many poor communities, not to enrich the already powerful."

InspirAction has launched a petition calling on FIFA President Sep Blatter to ‘give tax breaks for the World Cup sponsors the red card - and never impose these rules on World Cup host countries in the future.’

Ortigosa added: "This is money that should be used to help Brazil’s millions of poor families, for instance with better schools, hospitals and public transport, financial support for all communities affected by infrastructure projects and also through a fairer tax system."

Inequality in Brazil is so severe that the top 20 per cent of people get almost 60 per cent of all income, while the bottom 20 per cent (around 40 million people) get just 3 per cent, according to World Bank figures.

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