“Unlike Lewis Hamilton I live and pay taxes”– Tyson Fury mocks Lewis Hamilton over taxes amidst his frustration with lack of recognition.
Lewis Hamilton may go down as the greatest British sportsperson of all time, but his own countrymen have often mocked him on several issues, including taxes.
The recent most addition to the list is the British heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury, who took a no-tax jibe at Hamilton while stating that he believes his country always overlooks his achievements.
“Unlike Lewis Hamilton I live and pay taxes which went up to £9 million last year.” Fury told the Daily Mail. Fury’s outburst came after not being recognized enough in his own country following his ‘Boxer of the Year’ award at the ESPYs in America.
The 32-year-old was nominated for the Sports Personality of the Year award in the UK last year but asked to be removed and requested his fans not to vote for him while announcing his boycott.
Does Lewis Hamilton not pay taxes?
It is a general understanding that F1 drivers love to live in Monaco because it’s a great tax-free haven, so it’s rumoured that Hamilton doesn’t pay a penny to the UK in taxes despite earning millions every year.
However, this is false; according to the HMRC statistics, published in 2019, Hamilton was among the top 5,000 highest taxpayers in the UK despite living abroad for most of his racing career, so Fury didn’t fact check before swiping on hamilton.
Even Hamilton spoke about the baseless accusations against him over evading taxes by living in Monaco; in fact, he says he contributes economically across 19 countries.
“What people don’t realise is that I pay tax here [in the UK], but I don’t earn all my money here,” Hamilton said to The Sunday Times back in 2014.
“I race in 19 different countries, so I earn my money in 20 different places and I pay tax in several different places, and I pay a lot here as well. I am contributing to the country and, not only that, I help keep a team of more than 1,000 people employed.”
