Ajax have found themselves battling with the Dutch authorities over payments made to Jurrien Timber for his move to Arsenal.

The Dutch giants are now embroiled in a dispute with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration over the defender’s move to Arsenal in 2023.

The Amsterdam based club have received a substantial tax assessment after paying the defender a portion of the transfer fee. They took the matter to court to challenge the additional levy but have so far been unsuccessful.

The details of the affair have now come to light thanks to a ruling by the District Court of North Holland, published in October.

Arsenal transfer

Voetbal International explain that after Timber left Ajax to join Arsenal in 2023 – with Arsenal paying €40m for him – the defender was handed a part of that fee by the Dutch club.

During his final contract extension in Amsterdam, Timber had negotiated a clause entitling him to nine percent of any future transfer fee. That would increase to 13.5% if the transfer fee exceeded a certain threshold.

Ajax subsequently paid out the agreed-upon bonus. But they were then hit with an additional tax bill by Dutch authorities.

The charge related to the – ‘Bos Tax’ in the Netherlands. This is a fiscal measure originally introduced to curb excessive departure bonuses for top executives, often referred to as Golden Handshakes.

The tax is named after former Dutch Minister of Finance, Wouter Bos. It imposes a 75% tax rate on employers who pay out excessive severance packages to highly compensated employees.

It triggers when an employee’s annual assessment salary exceeds a certain threshold and their departure payout is higher than their regular annual income.

Unfair for football

It was introduced to discourage massive corporate exit bonuses for underperforming executives. Unfortunately for Ajax, the regulation also applies to football clubs.

If a player receives a departure bonus that exceeds their annual salary from two years prior, the club may be required to pay an additional 75% levy on the excess. The exact total Ajax paid after Timber’s move to Arsenal has not been disclosed.

Ajax, though, consider the regulation to be unfair. They have argued that transfer-related bonuses are an essential tool for retaining talented players at the club for longer periods.

They believe that the tax regulation fails to adequately account for the realities of the football world. They’re not the only ones to have fallen foul of it either. PSV and Feyenoord have also faced similar assessments in the past.

For now, they have paid the bill, but they do not accept the ruling. The legal battle is ongoing on that front. Ajax’s argument is that Dutch clubs are being placed at a disadvantage compared to their foreign competitors.