By Stavros Barbarousis/ info@eurohoops.net
Kevin Punter left Partizan in the summer of 2024; however, his balance with the club was settled on BAT.
The Basketball Arbitral Tribunal of FIBA awarded Punter a total of $200.000, which was kept by the club and used to pay taxes for his contract.
According to the court documents, Punter’s salary for the 2023-24 season was $2,35M net.
Despite having a contract also for the 2024-25 season, the player left for Barcelona in the summer of 2024, and Partizan argued that they shouldn’t pay the “personal annual income tax”, which is imposed on individuals who earn a total income higher than three times the average yearly wages paid in the Republic of Serbia.
Partizan withheld two payments of a total of $350.000 with this justification and ended up giving half of the money to Punter, who ultimately won the case, plus 5% annual taxes and 20.000 euros in legal fees and arbitration costs.
There’s currently no ban announced on registering new players, but if they don’t settle their balance with Punter, Partizan is expected to be added to the BAT sanctions list.