In a recent Linkedin post by Rutger Bregman, Max Verstappen was accused of avoiding taxes in his home country, the Netherlands. And now, as a solution, two economists, Wouter Leenders and Vinzenz Ziesemer, while writing an opinion article on de Volkskrant, have suggested the Dutch government do what the French government does to its uber-rich.
Verstappen has been accused of denying the Dutch government $213,781,000 (€200 million) in taxes. The 2x world champion resides in Monaco, where he has been paying zero taxes since the age of 18. Had he remained in his home country, Verstappen would have been subject to a 49.5% tax rate as he falls in the highest income bracket.
Despite being a national hero and being appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2018, the issue is not unique to Verstappen. Bregman, in his social media post, questioned the credibility of Verstappen’s title over this issue. Thus, it could sway the Netherlands to take the route France did sixty years ago.
Can the Netherlands force Max Verstappen to pay his taxes?
Max Verstappen has made the whole of the Netherlands proud by becoming the first Dutch driver to win a race and the F1 championship. Yet he has not contributed a fair share of his racing fortunes to his nation.
Two Dutch economists, Wouter Leenders and Vinzenz Ziesemer, have formulated a solution for the issue. They told ‘De Volkskrant,’ that the Netherlands must adopt a law like France did to stop its wealthy folk from fleeing to tax havens like Monaco.
The highest-paid athletes under the age of 26 (according to Forbes)
1. Kylian Mbappé – $120M
2. Kyler Murray – $70.5M
3. Max Verstappen – $64M 🤯💸
4. Erling Haaland – $52M
5. Luka Dončic – $47.2MAnd it is rumoured that Max’s salary will increase by $5m each year until 2028 😳
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) May 18, 2023
Since 1963, all French citizens residing in Monaco are subjected to France’s taxes. Both Ziesemer and Leenders believe the Netherlands can stop its citizens from evading taxes by living in the Mediterranean principality. However, there is a bigger problem with this.
Ziesemer and Leenders state that 15 other countries in the EU have favorable tax regimes for foreigners. The Netherlands is one of the countries on the list which led the way with favorable tax breaks. Therefore, blocking wealthy athletes from fleeing to Monaco will not yield a positive result.
Monaco has been home to many wealthy individuals, particularly F1 drivers. Apart from Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas, and Nyck De Vries have all called the principality home for its zero taxes. Frankly, Verstappen is not the first F1 driver to be accused of not paying taxes. However, it didn’t stop his entourage from making a response.
Verstappen’s manager refutes tax evasion claims
Since De Volkskrant published the article about Max Verstappen’s alleged tax evasion practices, the driver has received a lot of flak. Bregman claims Verstappen must not be celebrated as a Dutch hero and should be ashamed of his practices.
However, the Red Bull driver’s manager Raymond Vermeulen claims that the report is false. According to Vermeulen, the report published against the driver is factually incorrect.
Vermeulen argued, “That fact is completely false and what they wrote is incorrect. We pay tax on the sporting performances we put on in the Netherlands. As well as the income Max earns over the weekend in Zandvoort.”
He added, “We also pay taxes in other countries where he generates income as an athlete.” Vermeulen also said that Verstappen has no additional income from his homeland. Hence, he should not be subjected to paying additional tax on foreign income.
The 2x world champion himself admits that he likes living in Monte Carlo because of its favorable weather and anonymity. Certainly, these tax-related accusations can be taken as a huge offense by Verstappen in the foreseeable future. It could move the driver to take legal action against the experts, who have been calling him out for allegedly not paying taxes to the Netherlands. If the allegations have no substance, they could be in serious trouble.
