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Usain Bolt Won’t Run in UK Until Taxes Lowered

dirtydeac

dirtydeac

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The fastest man in the world says he won’t race in Britain until the tax laws are changed. Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in the London Olympic Games racing in the 100 m, 200m and 4x100m relay, says the taxes on global sponsorship, endorsement earnings and appearance fees are too high and he’s staying until they’re lowered.

The tax structure imposed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in Great Britain has three levels; those who make less than 34,370£ ($53, 961) yearly pay 20%; those who make between 34,370 and 150,000£ ($235,500) pay 40%, and those who make more than 150,000£ yearly pay a whopping 50% of their earnings to taxes.

Bolt, who makes an estimated £12.7 million ($20 million) a year, was adamant but polite in forcing the issue: “As soon as the law changes I'll be here all the time. I love being here, I have so many Jamaican fans here and it's wonderful."

Bolt had threatened not to run in the Olympics unless the government gave tax amnesty for competitors, which they did. He had skipped the 2010 Aviva London Grand Prix for the same reason, running in Paris instead, for which he was paid $250,000.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2012/08/15/Usain-Bolt-wont-run
 
^^^ enough people for him to pull 20 million per year
 
For some reason, this reminds me of Charles Barkley back in the 90s when he was thinking about running as a Republican for governor of Alabama...his grandmother asked him how he could be a Republican because they only stood for the rich. He said but granma, I am rich.
 
I am not familiar with British tax law, but I would think that he would only be taxed on his appearance fees in the UK if he ran there and not for a portion of his endorsement income and other revenues.

I can certainly understand him not wanting to live in the UK.
 
He hates people that make alot of money. Particularly if they don't joyfully pay taxes.
 
bobknightfan said:
Fuck him. It would be fine with me if he never ran again....or jumped off the Empire State Building. I could care less what he does.
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this is when bkf followed sprinting:

100m-sprint-Athens-1896.jpg
 
Saw this in the WSJ this morning.. I felt the larger point was tax policy evidently can impact people's economic / work-related decisions. Seems there's been some level of debate on that around here. Here's (yet another) real world example of someone opting out of working because of prohibitive tax burdens. I totally get BKF's reaction given his personal politics :)
 
some people in the world enjoy watching excellence. i feel sorry for you that you don't.
 
bobknightfan said:
LOL at calling what Bolt does for $20 million/year as "working". I realize that he puts a lot of effort into it (along with a lot of God-given natural ability)....but how does this "work" benefit society in any way? The answer is that it doesn't. If Bolt disappeared from the face of the earth, the world wouldn't miss his "work" the slightest bit. The guys who picked up your garbage this morning did more worthwhile "work" than Bolt has done in his life.
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I disagree with your view of the societal benefits of his “work”. But that wasn’t the point of my comment.
 
bobknightfan said:
LOL at calling what Bolt does for $20 million/year as "working". I realize that he puts a lot of effort into it (along with a lot of God-given natural ability)....but how does this "work" benefit society in any way? The answer is that it doesn't. If Bolt disappeared from the face of the earth, the world wouldn't miss his "work" the slightest bit. The guys who picked up your garbage this morning did more worthwhile "work" than Bolt has done in his life.
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I guess you never watch movies or entertainment on tv.
 
bobknightfan said:
LOL at calling what Bolt does for $20 million/year as "working". I realize that he puts a lot of effort into it (along with a lot of God-given natural ability)....but how does this "work" benefit society in any way? The answer is that it doesn't. If Bolt disappeared from the face of the earth, the world wouldn't miss his "work" the slightest bit. The guys who picked up your garbage this morning did more worthwhile "work" than Bolt has done in his life.
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How does his work benefit society? http://usainbolt.com/foundation/
 
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