New rules threaten to drive away some of the biggest overseas names from showcase events in Britain.

BRITAIN’S sporting calendar is in danger of being decimated by a new threat: a harsh tax regime blowing in from the government.

Some of the world’s top sports stars are turning their backs on tournaments in Britain because of “draconian” taxes now being imposed on their worldwide sponsorship deals.

Big events could lose some of their main attractions because of a new offensive by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to impose levies on money from endorsements. It confirmed this weekend that it is also targeting sponsors’ performance-related bonuses.

For example, if a sports star plays in two tournaments or races in two marathons a year, and one of those events is in Britain, they could be charged 50% tax on half their total annual sponsorship money.

Sergio Garcia, the Spanish golfer, played five tournaments in Britain in 2001, but plans to play just one here this year. He says that as he is paying more tax than he can earn from winnings, he has to think twice about playing in Britain.

Julian Hedley of RSM Tenon Media, who represents many top sportsmen, said another leading golfer had paid nearly six times more to HMRC in tax than he earned for participating in two UK tournaments last year — effectively paying a tax rate of 570%.

The taxman is now setting his sights on tennis players such as Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova. When they play at Wimbledon for two weeks this summer, they could be hit by a 50% tax on a proportion of their annual sponsorship deals.

The threat is such that Fifa, football’s ruling body, has already asked for an exemption for the 2018 World Cup if it is held in England.

The full story available from here : Taxman scares off top sport stars - Times Online

Yet another illustration of the way that the Socialist high tax rate policy on the wealthier and more productive in society is damaging this country.............