Photo: motogp.com
Marc Marquez is said to relocate to Andorra, the small country in the Pyrenees, between Spain and France. While an official confirmation or denial is yet to be expected from Marquez, it looks like we might see him leave Spain, indeed.
As many other sportsmen and sportswomen did before, Marquez’s move, if proved to be more than a rumor, is dictated by the financial advantages certain countries offer to them. If Marquez remains in his home region where he resides now, he has to pay income taxes which are close to 50%... and this is not exactly a bright perspective.
In spite of some claiming that a 50-50 deal with the state is not as bad as what other countries offer, we’d say it is huge. And living on the edge, like the MotoGP riders do, only makes things worse. These fellows’ office has a ground contact patch the size of a credit card and it usually moves at more than 200 mph (320 km/h), and not each day ends in their warm bed. For some, evening comes in a warm bed, but it’s a hospital one, and they’re waking from a surgery. So it’s not easy when the state shows up and demands 50 percent of whatever you have earned that day, without willing, however, to share the pain…
So now please compare these figures and percentages with what you get in your home countries. Even more, try to extrapolate and imagine you’re earning 10 million Euros or more a year as wage, plus several millions more from advertising and endorsements. It may very well be that the percentage you’ll end up with is starting to look silly.
As we said, other big names in motorsport have chosen to live in Andorra or Switzerland, Dani Pedrosa, Fernando Alonso, the Espargaro brothers or Casey Stoner to name just a few, even though some have since left Andorra.
Some of his fans denounced him as a Spaniard when the news broke, and some even called him a traitor, with the number of his Twitter followers dropping a bit, if this counts in any way for anything else than “showbiz”. Will Alex Marquez will follow his brother if he moves to Andorra? Time will tell.
In spite of some claiming that a 50-50 deal with the state is not as bad as what other countries offer, we’d say it is huge. And living on the edge, like the MotoGP riders do, only makes things worse. These fellows’ office has a ground contact patch the size of a credit card and it usually moves at more than 200 mph (320 km/h), and not each day ends in their warm bed. For some, evening comes in a warm bed, but it’s a hospital one, and they’re waking from a surgery. So it’s not easy when the state shows up and demands 50 percent of whatever you have earned that day, without willing, however, to share the pain…
10 percent income tax in Andorra sounds nice
If MM93 will move to Andorra, he will have to pay some €50,000 ($61,000). The normal “entry fee” is €400,000 ($491,000), but if the state deems a person as a “cultural, sporting or scientific asset”, it is reduced 8 times. Until 2018, he’d have to pay €30,000 ($37,000) a year, with a fixed 10% income tax after this regardless of how much money you make.So now please compare these figures and percentages with what you get in your home countries. Even more, try to extrapolate and imagine you’re earning 10 million Euros or more a year as wage, plus several millions more from advertising and endorsements. It may very well be that the percentage you’ll end up with is starting to look silly.
There is a catch…
…but a rather simple one. You just have to make sure you spend 183 days a year in Andorra, thus proving you are a local guy. Tennis player Arantxa Sanchez Vicario apparently ignored this and tried to trick the Spanish authorities. She was found to be in fact living in Barcelona and in 2009 she had to cash in 3.5 million Euro ($4.295 mil), gpextra tells us.As we said, other big names in motorsport have chosen to live in Andorra or Switzerland, Dani Pedrosa, Fernando Alonso, the Espargaro brothers or Casey Stoner to name just a few, even though some have since left Andorra.
Some of his fans denounced him as a Spaniard when the news broke, and some even called him a traitor, with the number of his Twitter followers dropping a bit, if this counts in any way for anything else than “showbiz”. Will Alex Marquez will follow his brother if he moves to Andorra? Time will tell.
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