Alonso to Spend $80M in Tax for Spain Return

Sometimes, being rich and wanting to spend your living days close to your love ones doesn't come cheap. People usually fend off paying high taxes in the countries they live in by moving to Switzerland. Every once in a while however, they figure they would rather be closer to family than save up for the future, and that decision often comes at a high cost.

But enough beating around the bush. We're talking about 2-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, who recently decided it was time for him to move back to his natal Spain, near Oviedo. Having so far lived in Switzerland for tax reasons (first in Mont-sur-Rolle, near Lake Geneva, and afterwards in Lugano), he will return to enjoy more time with his family and friends, and that will reportedly cost him approximately $80 million in tax.

“It's great to go home. I'm happy to pay the money. I'm not poor – just a little bit less rich now,” he said about going back to Spain, according to British tabloid newspaper The Mirror.

The same source notes that moving back to his native country will eat up approximately one third of his newly-signed contract with Ferrari, evaluated to close to a quarter billion US dollars. The Spaniard signed an extension to his current deal with the Scueria until the end of 2016, after which he stated he plans to retire from the sport.

The deal was signed only hours before the start of last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, at Circuit de Catalunya. However, the aforementioned publication did not reveal when Alonso took the decision to move out of Switzerland.

In related news, Ferrari is reportedly on the verge of announcing Alonso's future teammate, with sources close to the matter revealing an announcement could be made prior to this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. For the time being, Felipe Massa is bound to the Scuderia until the end of 2012.