HMRC to slap Wimbledon winners Sinner and Swiatek with £1m tax bill
Wimbledon winners Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek will each be slapped with a £1m tax bill by HMRC.
Despite not being based in the United Kingdom, Italian Sinner and Pole Swiatek will each be taxed at 45 per cent for winning in SW19 and claiming their £3m prizes.
Robert Salter, of audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg, said: “Although neither the Italian player, Jannik Sinner or Polish player, Iga Swiatek, are classed as UK tax resident, they will be taxed on their UK-related earnings, including their £3m Wimbledon prize winnings, on which they face a hefty tax liability of over £1m.”
“Wimbledon will be obliged to operate withholding tax, at a flat rate of 20 per cent, on the prize money that they pay to these stars.
“However, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek will be taxable in the UK at a top rate of 45 per cent on their Wimbledon winnings, minus some business expenses they can claim as a deduction against their profits.
“Both will also be taxable on an element of their wider image rights earnings, as some of this image right income will be regarded by HMRC as UK-sourced.”
Wimbledon tax
Sinner beat Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s final on Sunday to claim his first Wimbledon title while Swiatek became the ninth women’s winner in the last nine editions of the famous grand slam.
Few realise the amount of tax sports stars pay on their earnings, with golfers also consistently hit by authorities.
Added Slater: “While international tax law and UK tax regulations do provide HMRC with a legal basis for taxing these stars in the above manner, many other countries, such as Germany, provide much more favourable tax regimes for travelling sportspeople.
“The relatively punitive tax system in the UK for sportspeople has often been seen as a negative, and it is believed that some sports stars, such as Usain Bolt and Rafael Nadal, have historically refused to participate in certain UK sporting events in the past because of the tax implications that they faced, although for the Wimbledon organisers, the prestige of the event outweighs any negative tax implications for the participants.”