Donovan Bailey doesn’t deserve sympathy

Re How the world’s fastest man ended up owing $2.3M in taxes

Donovan Bailey doesn’t want to pay taxes on all his money — more than most of us will see in our entire lives. So he gives it to some slick tax lawyer who tells him that with a wave of his magic wand most of the money will come back to him and without anything owing to the government. Obviously, he was not familiar with the old adage: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

I have absolutely no sympathy for Bailey. He seems oblivious to all the government funding over the years that paid for the schools he attended, the teachers and coaches, the track facilities, the payments he received, the support of the Canadian Olympic Committee and more, all of which helped him achieve his goals.

I have every respect for Bailey as an athlete; for a time he was the best in the world, a feat he achieved legally. But rather than pay the government what was legally owed, he chose to avoid his obligations by becoming involved in an illegal scheme. Leon Marr, Toronto Are we supposed to feel sorry for Donovan Bailey that an offshore tax scheme left him broke? That he was “wronged and given bad advice?”

He is a big boy and a smart one and knew exactly what he was doing. He was stealing from his fellow Canadians, all of whom admired him, to the tune of $2.3 million.

Is the fastest man in the world sprinting to work to earn that $2.3 million he owes Canadians so he can pay us back?

No, he has chosen to take the cowards’ and cheats’ way out by declaring bankruptcy. Jane Martin, Toronto