Swiss parliamentarians could vote to revoke a tax break for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a result of the scandal over corruption in choosing Games sites, a respected Geneva newspaper said yesterday. The daily Le Temps said there was considerable support in a key parliamentary body for withdrawing the exemption from Value Added Tax (VAT) granted to the IOC by the Swiss cabinet in September. The exemption, officially estimated as likely to save the Lausanne-based IOC some two million Swiss francs (approximately £1 million) a year, has already been approved by the upper house of the legislature in Berne.

The IOC has been free from direct government taxation since 1981. The latest VAT concession has to pass the scrutiny of the economy and taxation committee of Switzerland's lower house on January 25th, around the same time the IOC is due to issue its report on a corruption scandal which came into the open earlier this month.

The IOC may be forced to expand its investigation into whether Salt Lake City broke rules on gifts to members and their relatives during its successful campaign to win the right to host the 2002 Winter Games after serious allegations of attempted corruption in IOC votes were made by one of the body's most senior officials. According to Le Temps, many committee members would make their vote dependent on the tone and content of the report.

Meanwhile, the two most powerful men in sport, Samaranch and FIFA president Sepp Blatter, will meet next week to try to resolve their differences on anti-doping laws in sport.

Samaranch will visit FIFA headquarters in Zurich on January 6th to discuss the governing body of football's position on measures to combat doping, as well as other issues.

The IOC and FIFA have been at odds over the drug problem. FIFA was one of three federations, along with those representing tennis and cycling, who objected to an agreement calling on all Olympic sports to impose a minimum two-year suspension for athletes found guilty of using steroids.

FIFA officials questioned whether the penalty was enforceable and argued that not all drugs on the IOC's banned list have performance-enhancing qualities for footballers.

Under the resolution, sports which do not comply risk being dropped from the Olympics.