Exactly one year after London hosted the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, the Brits hoped to bring back a little bit of track and field magic with the IAAF Diamond League. The IAAF Diamond League is an annual series of track and field events held all over the world – and this year, the Anniversary Games held in London this year seem a fitting encore to the Olympics.
The competitors at the games are reminiscent of those at the Olympics; the list includes Allyson Felix, Mo Farah, Ryan Bailey, Sanya Richards-Ross, and of course, Usain Bolt. And the more than 60,000 fans attending the event couldn’t be more thrilled.
Bolt, referred to as the “fastest man on the planet” has already picked up two wins at the games, adding to his notoriety. But he’s also made no secret about the fact that this could be his last race in the country for some time. He only agreed to race in the event because the British government extended the exception, initially extended to Olympic athletes, to allow international athletes to compete tax-free. Otherwise, under the current law, Bolt, like other athletes are subject to a pro-rated tax in the UK based on the number of events that they participate in. If, for example, Bolt participates in five races in 2013 and one of those races happened in the UK, the Brits take the position that they are entitled to 1/5 of Bolt’s worldwide income. Yep. This is in addition to a 50% tax rate on appearance fees. The tax is imposed even though athletes who win – like Bolt – may not live in the country.
And you thought the U.S. had onerous laws: at least we only impose tax for non-residents on income earned from U.S. sources.
Bolt isn’t the only holdout. Rafael Nadal refused to play in the Queen’s Club tourney in Britain last year, citing that country’s tax laws as a deterrent. Instead, opted to play in more tax-friendly Germany that week. Nadal did, however, make an appearance this year at Wimbledon (shh, no need to mention his upset at the hands of Steve Darcis).
Of course, while we, as Americans, may hate our laws, athletes really hate the U.K. tax laws. Really. Threats of skipping out on major events to avoid taxation have de rigeur for years. It’s one of the reasons that the laws were changed for the Olympics. And it’s why the U.K. has made exceptions for Wembley – and for the Champion Leagues finals (my U.S. readers can pretend that they totally knew that was a soccer championship). Exemptions are also in place for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year.
But do those exemptions really make a difference?
Bolt, who ranks 63rd on Forbes’ list of Highest-Paid Athletes, says yes. The athlete, who was expected to gross $20.3 million in 2012, said, about the Diamond League Games, “[i]t is always beautiful and always wonderful in London, I really enjoy it here. It is just an extremely great stadium and I am happy.”
When it comes to taxes, however, Bolts balks. Will he be back? That “depends on what the tax laws say, if they say it’s OK I will be here next year.”
