Lewis Hamilton Escaped To Switzerland To Avoid The Taxman
Nov 10, 2007
McLaren
Formula One star Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is moving to Switzerland to avoid the taxman.
Hamilton said the tax issue was a factor in his decision to quit Britain.
The 22-year-old McLaren driver has previously cited privacy as his sole reason for leaving.
But he made his admission on ITV1 chat show Parkinson. Fox Sports.com
The 22-year-old McLaren driver, from Stevenage in Herts, previously cited privacy as his reason for leaving.
But he admitted on television chat show Parkinson that tax was an issue as well as the photographers pursuing him.
He was asked by Michael Parkinson: “I imagine you have been advised because of tax also?” Hamilton replied: “Also, that definitely adds to it.”
Parkinson said: “I just thought you were wrongly advised in a sense when you said you were going to avoid the press.
“If you want to live in Switzerland then that’s your problem, in my view. I wouldn’t live there for £50m a week.” BBC.co
Hamilton, 22, had claimed his decision to quit his home in England was due to the intense interest in his private life that has accompanied his meteoric rise during his rookie season with McLaren.
But, speaking on ITV1 chat show Parkinson, he conceded that the tax issue was a major factor in the move.
Presenter Michael Parkinson asked him: “Well, you say you are going to avoid the photographers and all that, but I will imagine that you have been advised to do so because of the tax also?”
Hamilton replied: “Also, that definitely adds to it.” AFP
Lewis Hamilton has performed a neat u-turn by admitting that minimising tax was indeed a factor in his decision to flee Britain to live in Switzerland.
The 22-year-old rookie was roundly criticised by the British press and public when he recently said their intrusion into his newly-public life - not the fact that he will annually save millions due to Switzerland’s tax policy - had moved him to select a new home overlooking Lake Geneva.
“For me, it is not a tax haven,” he had insisted. “I’ve been in England the last few years paying tax. It’s not an issue.” Home Of Sport.com
