The Hesse Fiscal Court has ruled that a club or association that has the promotion of table soccer as its statutory purpose is a non-profit organization. The "VereinsBrief", published in Würzburg, points this out.



In its ruling of 23 June 2010 (Ref.: 4 K 501/09), the court is turning against the practice of the tax authorities, which have so far refused to recognize table soccer as a charitable activity. According to the judges, competitive table soccer in particular requires a high degree of artistic movements based on personal physical exertion, which meet the requirements that the legislator and the highest court rulings place on the concept of sport.



Compared to the "Tipp-Kick game", table soccer requires a significantly higher level of strength and movement and places far greater demands on the players' ability to concentrate and react due to the speed of play. Therefore, table soccer is comparable to other sports such as motor sports, gliding, darts or sport shooting, which are recognized as non-profit by the tax authorities.


Tip from "VereinsBrief": The ruling is not legally binding. The court has allowed an appeal to the Federal Fiscal Court due to the fundamental importance of the case. Graduate economist Günter Göbel, editor in charge of the "VereinsBrief", recommends that all table football clubs refer to the pending proceedings and challenge or keep open their tax returns with regard to non-profit status. As soon as the file number of the proceedings is available, it will be announced in the "VereinsBrief".



The "VereinsBrief" is published by the IWW Institut für Wirtschaftspublizistik (IWW). The IWW is the market leader for ad-free business and tax information services aimed at professional target groups such as doctors, dentists, tax consultants, lawyers and entrepreneurs (B2B). The IWW Institute publishes over 60 information services at three locations in Düsseldorf, Nordkirchen and Würzburg and offers over 10 online information services. The IWW also organizes over 250 seminars and congresses every year. As an independently operating company, it belongs to Vogel Business Media, a leading German specialist information provider with around 100 specialist journals and 60 websites as well as numerous international activities.