Bolt has been enticed back to UK shores by an income tax exemption on all appearance fees, prize money and endorsement income.
Ordinarily the UK has stringent rules that tax visiting sports stars. Following a landmark case involving Andre Agassi, HM Revenue & Customs has the right to tax visiting sports stars on the proportion of all of their world-wide income that is attributable to their performance in the UK. This is not restricted to fees for appearances in the UK but extends to all earnings related to a UK performance.
Shortly after the Olympics last year Bolt raised concerns about the UK’s tax regime
So why have sports megastars such as Bolt been granted exemption from UK tax, while other athletes and performers have to pay their fair share under UK tax rules? The answer from Sports Minister Hugh Robertson is that "we want to attract the very best athletes, and this helps us to do that". Usain Bolt had not raced in the UK since 2009 before tax exemptions were granted for the London 2012 Olympics because of the potential tax bill.
While it may grate upon the ordinary man paying his share of UK tax to see highly-paid athletes being granted tax exemptions, the inevitable truth is that if we want to host major sporting events in the UK, tax exemptions will need to remain. And for that matter, where do we draw the line?
We know that recently orchestras and classical musicians have complained that foreign musicians and artists face an ‘aggressive tax regime’ when performing in the UK. Surely a tax break for classical performers would help to lure big names into this country to popular events such as the Proms. Now that really would be music to the ears of event organisers…
Helen Relf is private client group director at Baker Tilly
