Non-UK sports stars are still taxed by HMRC on their UK earnings

Tennis stars Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek face heavy UK tax liabilities of over £1 million each as a result of winning Wimbledon, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.

Robert Salter, a Director at the firm, 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 £3,000,000 Wimbledon prize winnings, on which they face a hefty tax liability of over £1 million.

“Wimbledon will be obliged to operate withholding tax, at a flat rate of 20%, 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% 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.”

Robert added, “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 organizers, the prestige of the event outweighs any negative tax implications for the participants.”