In a response to questions by parliament, the underminister of Finance has announced the governement is concidering changes in the VAT legislation in the area of sports. This is the consequence of a ruling by the European Court of Justice, that – in December 2013 – ruled that in certain situations the greenfees paid to golfclubs by non-members (fee for playing golf on their golfcourse) is VAT exempt. Although this may seem a favorable ruling, it also means that the golfclubs are not allowed to reclaim VAT on their investments and costs. Giving the fact that golfclubs in the Netherlands up to the ECJ ruling charged the low VAT rate of 6% (which entitled them to a refund of VAT charged to them on costs and investments), applying a VAT exemption may prove costly in the end.
The government is now considering a full VAT exemption on sports in line with the EU VAT Directive. This would include a VAT exemption on providing the use of sports accommodations. This would mean the problem of non-deductible VAT would expand considerably within sports. Therefore it is advisable to start thinking about the consequences for your organization and consider the pros and cons of making (early) investments while VAT is still deductible.