Spanish soccer star Andres Iniesta has suggested that he failed to report part of his income to Japanese authorities in order to avoid double taxation. He said he declared the earnings in question in Spain.

Japanese tax authorities earlier this month ordered Iniesta to pay a penalty tax worth around 580 million yen, or about 3.8 million dollars, on undeclared income of about 5.7 million dollars. That income came from his 2018 contract with a Japanese club team and other sources.

Iniesta belonged to Vissel Kobe, a team in the J-League's top division, from July of that year until July of 2023.

Iniesta issued a statement on Saturday. He said that he declared all the income that he earned around the world in 2018 to the tax authorities in Spain.
He said he has already paid taxes levied on the amount pointed out by the Japanese authorities. He also said he is being heavily burdened by double taxation.

Iniesta said he has asked officials to start working on a "satisfactory solution." Japan and Spain have an agreement that is aimed at eliminating double taxation.

Iniesta said he is hoping for an early resolution of the matter. He also said that he hopes he will receive a refund, as he has paid too much. The player promised to continue to conform to the laws and rules.

151.42 JPY to $, Mar 2,18:24 UTC.