By announcing income of $6,431 former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve evaded $1.7 Million worth taxes

According to the Pandora Papers leak, the 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has been avoiding taxes in Canada by declaring an income worth only $6,431.

Millionaires and tax avoidance is a classic love story! Nobody likes to lose their hard-earned wealth by paying taxes to the Government. And Jacques Villeneuve is just another example of this kind.

F1 drivers make a considerable amount of money throughout their racing careers. And are notorious for moving to tax havens like Monaco and residing in places with no income tax.

Former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has been accused of hiding his income and avoiding tax worth $1.7 million in his native Canada. He was a resident of the state of Quebec from 1993 to 1996 and 2007 to 2013.

 

The former racer’s name has been revealed in the infamous Pandora Papers leak. Canadian Tax authorities are investigating him for not reporting his total income and assets, including a Swiss bank account and multiple offshore holdings.

According to reports, only reported $6,431 in personal income in 2010 and applied for a tax benefit for low-income families. He declared $3,224 and $5,782 in income for the following two years.

Villeneuve has beneficiaries of an offshore trust in the British Virgin Islands. Villeneuve has also set up multiple offshore companies in the Bahamas to evade taxes along with his longtime manager Craig Pollock.

He has since left Canada and relocated to various Tax Havens like Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland. He finally settled in Italy, paying just $100,000 in taxes, a fraction of his earnings.

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What were Jacques Villeneuve’s earnings?

Jacques Villeneuve is the son of former Ferrari F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve. Ahead of his stint in F1, Jacques had already been crowned the 1995 Indianapolis 500 Winner.

He signed up with Williams in 1996 for three years. It is estimated that the Canadian earned $15 million a season during his time with the British team.

The Canadian shot to fame after he won the 1997 F1 driver’s title. He fended off Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher by claiming seven wins that season and claiming victory in the last race of the season.

And then would make a blockbuster move for $100 million to British American racing team. But he’d never win another F1 race and eventually leave F1 in 2006.

He also made millions in earnings through image rights, such as advertisements, sponsorships and video games. And these were funnelled into his offshore company Goldstar Holdings.

He spent his wealth on Monaco’s 40-metre yacht, the Bliss. He also owns a chalet in Switzerland and a two-storey penthouse in Downtown Montreal worth $7 Million. All of these were traced to one of his offshore accounts.

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