World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has already withdrawn from the Aegon Championships at London’s Queen’s Club in 2012. The ATP World Tour Final is looking at moving its tour finale to a new location in 2013. So what’s the reason for the distaste toward London by the Spaniard and one of the ATP’s top tournaments?
ATP World Tour Finals Could Leave London In 2013 Unless Foreign Players Given Tax Exemption
The ATP is threatening to move the World Tour Finals if London doesn’t allow players to receive a tax exemption.
Getty Images for Barclays ATP Fi
Rules on tax exemption for foreign players, that’s what. From the BBC:
UK tax rules state that in addition to tax paid on prize money and appearance fees, visiting athletes have to hand over a percentage of their global endorsement income, with the amount proportional to the time they spend in the UK.
Simplified down, it means that Rafa won’t be playing because of the money he will be losing from the four months during grass-court season and two weeks in the fall for the Tour Finals that he spends in London.
The Lawn Tennis Association knows of the issue and said it is taking it seriously.
“One of our priorities is to retain this event and tackle the player-tax issue,” said LTA’s chief executive Roger Draper.
NOTE: The 2012 London Olympics and all its foreign players have been exempted from the London tax.
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