Sport
Usain Bolt anchors Jamaican relay team to victory at Diamond League in London
However, Bolt isn’t happy with the British tax laws. He only returned to London to compete because the government agreed to allow international athletes to compete tax-free at this meet as they did at the London Olympics. Taxes are usually imposed on appearance fees and prize money for non-resident athletes in all sports when competing in Britain.
Bolt said returning to race “depends on what the tax laws say. If they say it’s OK, I will be here next year.”
A tax exemption is already in place for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year, but Bolt is not committing to competing in the Scottish city. The government does not appear willing to waive its tax rules whenever it suits an athlete or event officials.
“You have to be a little bit careful about this,” Sports Minister Hugh Robertson told reporters. “We have a very straight forward modus operandi with the Treasury whereby whenever we need a tax break for a particular event we make the case, they look at it and they have been very good at granting it as they were for Usain Bolt.
“You have to just realize, though, that all these decisions are taken against the backdrop of the national economy and giving tax breaks to wealthy sports stars when the economy is in the state it is at the moment is something that needs careful decision on a case-by-case basis.”
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
