Tax break for Commonwealth Games athletes - Telegraph: "The Treasury is offering top foreign athletes a tax break to compete in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to help ensure the event boasts a high calibre field that could include Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt."
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Under UK tax rules, any non-resident athlete performing in Britain is subject to income tax on both their appearance fee and any associated worldwide endorsement payments. However, Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, said the Government has decided to waive the rule to attract the best talent to the Games.
It is not the first time the tax break has been granted. Competitors at this year’s Olympics have been exempted, as were the footballers at last year’s Champion’s League final at Wembley.
The levy has proved a deterrent to athletes in the past. In 2010, Mr Bolt, the Olympic 100 metres and 200 metres champion and world record holder, missed a Diamond League meeting in London because of the rules. Tennis players and golfers are also believed to have stayed away from smaller UK tournaments due to the tax. They are still taxed on the income in their home country.
Announcing the waiver, Mr Alexander said: “Everyone wants to see the best athletes compete at Glasgow 2014 and this exemption will make that more likely... This special exemption will prolong the Olympic legacy and help spread the long-term benefits into Scotland.”
The London 2012 Olympics exemption was a condition of the bid and the Treasury stressed that the Commonwealth Games was “a special exemption”.
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