The fastest man that has ever lived, Usain Bolt, may have lit up the London Olympics with commanding gold-medal-winning performances in the 100m, 200m and men's 4x100m relay, but UK athletics audiences will not be seeing him running here again anytime soon, reports The Telegraph.
The Jamaican sprinter has ruled out a return to the UK to run competitively again until the UK Government reviews its taxation laws.
At present UK tax law means that performers such as Bolt are taxed on global earnings including sponsorship deals and endorsements as well as any appearance fee at the highest rate of 50% every time he competes in Britain.
Bolt, 25, earns around $20m per annum from performance fees and endorsements from companies including Virgin and Puma. However, he told UK athletics fans that he will not compete here again until the law is changed.
"As soon as the law changes I'll be here all the time," Bolt said. "I love being here, I have so many Jamaican fans here and it's wonderful," he told The Telegraph.
According to tax experts, the UK Exchequer would seek to earn not only from any performance fee but also from Bolt's £12m sponsorship deal with athletics clothing brand, Puma.
Glyn Bunting is a partner at accountancy firm, Deloitte.
He told BBC Radio 4: "Usain Bolt will be paid a considerable amount of money to wear a particular brand of clothing or a particular type of racing shoe and HMRC wants its share of that income."
Bolt had not raced in the UK for three years prior to competing at the London 2012 games. The decision by the Exchequer has meant that Bolt has shunned the UK to compete in rival cities including Paris in recent years. HMRC announced an amnesty on tax for competitors at the Olympic Games.
Athletics is not the only sport to be hit by the UK's stance on tax. In June, Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Aegon Tennis Championships at Queen's Club due to tax reasons.
Source:
Usain Bolt refuses to race in UK until tax laws are changed (The Telegraph)
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