I happily pay my taxes, says Gary Lineker in wake of Paradise leak
GARY LINEKER avoided stamp duty on his Barbados home by buying it through an offshore company, the socalled Paradise Papers have alleged.
The Match of the Day presenter coowned a property through Goalhanger Inc, a firm based in the British Virgin Islands. This, it is claimed, would allow him to avoid tax when it was sold.
Stamp duty is payable in Barbados when a home is sold, but the offshore structure makes it possible to avoid paying tax altogether, ensuring profits can be transferred out of the country.
The revelations come just days after Lineker, 56, stated on Twitter that he would “sleep very soundly” in the wake of the data leak, adding: “I rather doubt I’ll be mentioned as I happily pay my taxes.” Shortly after he was implicated in the leak, he returned to Twitter to point out tax had been declared to HMRC and paid.
When a journalist drew attention to the story concerning his property, writing, “Now read this,”’ Lineker hit back with: “Please do so, especially this bit ‘the sale had been declared to HMRC and all taxes due in the UK and abroad had been paid in full.”
Lineker’s agent told The Daily Telegraph there would be “no reaction” to the allegation that he had avoided tax through the use of an offshore vehicle.
The father-of-four bought the fivebedroom mansion on the exclusive Royal Westmoreland Golf and Country Club development in 2005. It had ocean views, a 50ft heated swimming pool and marble bathrooms. Lineker once described it as the perfect location for a family getaway. The former England football captain is said to have personally overseen the renovation work on the £2.2 million home.
It is not known whether this is the one referenced in the Paradise Papers, which show that a property was sold by Goalhanger, of which Lineker is a director, to new owners in 2010.
In Barbados, if a home is bought by an individual or a local company, it commands a 1 per cent stamp duty and 2.5 per cent in transfer taxes when sold. With luxury properties, this can amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds. The issue of tax breaks for foreigners is an ongoing concern in Barbados, which is in the midst of an economic crisis.
Grenville Phillips, founder of Solutions Barbados, a political action group which is fielding candidates in next year’s general election, told the Guardian: “We plan to institute a system where tax avoidance will be challenging – very, very difficult.
“We are not persecuting anyone, that should be very clear … but we will look at things and see if they are fair.”
Other Britons who reportedly have BVI companies registered to own property in Barbados in the same way include Mike Gatting, former England cricket captain, who owns it with his wife, Elaine. “The indications are that any profit on a sale will be modest,” he said. “If a taxable profit is made, the tax due will be paid.”
Until 2007, there were restrictions on how much money from a property sale could be transferred out of Barbados in one go. But the rate of transfer tax was cut from 7.5 per cent and the rules changed to allow foreigners to repatriate their takings immediately.