Usain bolts Britain over high taxes
Usain Bolt runs away from higher taxes.
Just another reminder that taxation change behavior.
Organisers of next month's Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace had hoped to stage the first 100 metres head-to-head of the season between Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell but the triple Olympic champion is set to shun the meeting because it would expose him to a huge tax bill.And speaking of taxes influencing an athlete's behavior, should we really have been surprised that LeBron choose no-income-tax Florida over states with an income tax like New York, Ohio and Illinois? No.
Unless the tax rules are relaxed, athletics administrators fear British fans will be denied the chance to see the sport's biggest star in action again until he returns to the capital in two years' time to defend his Olympic titles.
"I wouldn't be optimistic about seeing Bolt compete on British soil this year and there is a strong chance he won't be back until 2012," said an insider close to the negotiations with the Jamaican.
Since April, foreign sports stars competing in Britain are liable for a top rate of income tax of 50 per cent but, controversially, the tax is charged not just on the money they earn in Britain but on a proportion of their worldwide sponsorship income.
(h/t Michelle Malkin)
