Where were you on October 15, 2024? Not a life-defining moment for you? I suspect it would, in large part, depend on whether you have more than a fleeting affinity for tariffs.

If you cannot recall the significance of the day, at the Economic Club of Chicago, across the Atlantic Ocean, this sentiment was first expressed: “To me the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff’.” These words were spoken by the then soon-to-be-inaugurated President Donald Trump. The reference to ‘tariff’ being the most beautiful word continued to be used during Trump’s Presidential campaign and continues to be used regularly.

So, is ‘tariff’ still the most beautiful word, or is it ‘tax’ now? Let us not go down a slippery slope by questioning whether a ‘tariff’ is a ‘tax’. Potato, potahto? No. A little intrigued?

What will you be doing on June 11? It depends on your sporting preferences and affiliations, as it is the day the 2026 FIFA World Cup starts in Mexico City, with Mexico hosting the opening match against South Africa. It is the twenty-third edition of the World Cup, and the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries: Canada, Mexico and the US.

Now for the kicker – more than half of the countries that have qualified for the World Cup are facing additional costs and potential losses, owing to FIFA’s failure to agree on a blanket tax exemption with the US government and significant variance in the host country’s international tax treaties.

While FIFA secured a tax exemption from the Qatari government for the 2022 World Cup, allowing the 32 teams participating in the tournament to play in Qatar without paying any taxes, no such arrangement has been reached with the US.

FIFA, as a not-for-profit organisation, has had tax-exempt status in the US since the 1994 FIFA World Cup. However, that tax exemption does not apply to all qualifying countries. As a consequence, the non-exempt countries’ national associations must pay a range of federal, state and city taxes on their earnings from the World Cup.

Of this year’s 48 World Cup qualifiers, 18 are countries – most of them from Europe – that have signed a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) with the US, which exempts their delegations from paying federal taxes.

Other than the co-hosts, the only non-European countries that have signed DTAs are Australia, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa. The tax exemption does not apply to players’ earnings, given that, under US federal law, athletes are required to pay tax on income earned in the US.

However, it does cover coaches, backroom and support staff, meaning they only need to pay tax in the country where their association is based. At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, players, coaches and support staff have a unique employment category that defies conventional classification. For instance, players remain under contract with their club teams; however, they are temporarily released to represent their national squads under short-term arrangements with their national association.

As for the tax position, to complicate matters further, the other co-hosts have granted tax exemptions to all associations, so teams with group games in those countries will pay lower tax rates.

Despite significant variances in tax liabilities, FIFA’s operational budget for each of the 48 teams is fixed at $1.5-million. Thus, issues may also arise from the fact that FIFA’s operational budget for the 48 teams works out at $600 for each delegation member, which is $250 less than the budget for the previous tournament in Qatar, despite living expenses in the US being much higher than in Qatar. The Qatari government also granted tax exemptions to all 32 national associations participating in the 2022 World Cup.

That, however, is not the end of the story – in addition, the levels of state taxation vary significantly. There is no state tax at all in Florida, where seven games will take place in Miami. In contrast, it is 10.75% in New Jersey, which will stage the final match, and 13.3% in California, where Los Angeles and San Francisco will host games.

At the time of writing, FIFA was working with all national associations to assist with their tax issues.