Lewis Hamilton’s £3.3m VAT back on his luxury private jet
LEWIS Hamilton looks pretty chuffed with himself as he poses on his £16.5million private jet – which the Paradise Papers leak reveals he avoided paying tax on.
Files show the Formula One world champion got a £3.3million VAT refund after the Bombardier Challenger 605 was imported to the Isle of Man in 2013.
But experts said it appears a leasing deal set up by advisers was artificial and did not comply with EU and UK bans on refunds for private use – although the star may have been entitled to one for business.
Hamilton, 32, said he instructed his lawyers to check arrangements and he had been told they were legal.
He added that he relied on professional advice and was not concerned with the day-to-day management of his business.
However, experts said if the plane was in service for private use his actions were not correct. Rita De La Feria, a professor of tax law at Leeds University, has reviewed the files and said: “The only reason I can see for setting up these schemes is to hide private use and not pay VAT on it. If there was private use, this is clear-cut avoidance.”
Hamilton waves the Union Jack at his races in a show of patriotism but cited taxation as a reason for his move to Switzerland – and has also lived in tax haven Monaco.
He appears to have used shell companies in the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man and Guernsey to avoid the £3.3million VAT bill triggered when he imported his jet from Canada. The driver set up another Isle of Man company to buy a £1.4million motorhome he uses at race tracks. No VAT appears to have been paid on that purchase either. Hamilton touched down on the Isle of Man in his new jet on January 21, 2013, with his then girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger, to finalise the paperwork with customs.
While his planned use of the jet was predominantly for business, documents suggest he intended to make private flights for roughly a third of the time.
And Hamilton’s social media provides evidence that he has used the jet for holidays. He has posted snaps of himself and his bulldogs Roscoe and Coco on the plane.
The only reason I see for these schemes is to hide private use RITA DE LA FERIA ON AEROPLANE’S LEASE DEAL