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Different tax regime needed for Jamaican athletes
By Alicia Roache roachea@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, April 21, 2011
There could be a move underway to encourage the government and legislators to apply a different level of taxes to the earnings of Jamaican athletes.
Yesterday, Roderick Gordon, attorney at law and founding partner of the law firm Gordon McGrath told Caribbean Business Report that the amendment could mitigate some of the challenges facing sports in Jamaica and the continued viability of earnings of sporting stars. Gordon was one of several speakers at a Seminar on Intellectual Property and Sport organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) over two days at the Knutsford Court Hotel. Gordon said athletes should be taxes less because their earning life span is significantly shorter than that of other professionals.
Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt
"One of the issues that was raised yesterday was looking at differentiating the tax regime for athletes whose life span may be six years, versus an accountant who can work for 50 years. That's a pretty interesting area that I think we are going to bring up with the Minister of Sports and the sports policy is not quite cohesive yet so there may be some room to address that," Gordon said.
He said the athletes 'after-life' is short in Jamaica, because unlike other countries, the sporting industry here is not as developed to accommodate professional transitions within the industry. "We don't have a lot of former track athletes, former footballers becoming media commentators as you see in other countries. That tends to be where they earn their living in later years," Gordon noted.
Gordon pointed to the case of Ireland, which has decided not to tax persons in creative industries that "carry their name and goodwill all over the world". "We need to see a similar situation like that. Because what you would get is people feeling comfortable to a greater degree, somebody may be more open to saying I played cricket for 16 weeks and made US$750,000. The tax man is not going to come knocking on your door tomorrow. That may inspire another 30 young fellows to say I want to do this, and more importantly convince their parents that this is a worthwhile endeavour, because that is a main part of our challenge in Jamaica," he said.
However, to supplement their income in the 'after-life' Gordon said athletes should aim to protect and monetise their brands and here greater emphasis should be placed on pro intellectual property. "Athletes have the right to protect and exercise their 'personality rights' as well. That is your image, your likeness, your name, etc.," Gordon said.
"There are different levels. What then happens is that there is a test as to your celebrity. So for example in Jamaica I would say Aileen Bailey probably would have a harder time convincing a UK court that she has celebrity status in the UK. But undoubtedly in Jamaica she would be able to establish that she has the right to commercially exploit her personality and her image because she is well known and loved here. A Usain Bolt easily could do that in virtually every country in the world. Asafa Powell can also," Gordon noted.
Bolt, who has become an international superstar for his exploits on the track, commands a significant amount in personality rights earning a reported US$20 million last year alone.
"For me that's a controversial question," Gordon said when quizzed on the value of personality rights for someone like Bolt. "Because yesterday one of the presenters said they have it on good authority that he could have earned US$20 million (J$1.72billion) last year in terms of contracts and endorsements," Gordon said. However, this is just a fraction of his earning potential when compared to other athletes of his calibre.
"My view is he's probably at the beginning of his earning potential. Tiger Woods is approaching US$1 billion. Tiger Woods is now 35 years old and with his recent unfortunate scandals, he no longer has the appeals he once enjoyed," noted Gordon.
Athletes like Bolt, argued Gordon, should not just earn fees for their performances, but protect their earnings by merchandising and making longer term investments.
"I think the athletes of today are more aware that they need to be financially savvy. That is one of the things that a seminar like this is geared towards."
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/busin...#ixzz1KCNxWlSY
By Alicia Roache roachea@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, April 21, 2011
There could be a move underway to encourage the government and legislators to apply a different level of taxes to the earnings of Jamaican athletes.
Yesterday, Roderick Gordon, attorney at law and founding partner of the law firm Gordon McGrath told Caribbean Business Report that the amendment could mitigate some of the challenges facing sports in Jamaica and the continued viability of earnings of sporting stars. Gordon was one of several speakers at a Seminar on Intellectual Property and Sport organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) over two days at the Knutsford Court Hotel. Gordon said athletes should be taxes less because their earning life span is significantly shorter than that of other professionals.
Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt"One of the issues that was raised yesterday was looking at differentiating the tax regime for athletes whose life span may be six years, versus an accountant who can work for 50 years. That's a pretty interesting area that I think we are going to bring up with the Minister of Sports and the sports policy is not quite cohesive yet so there may be some room to address that," Gordon said.
He said the athletes 'after-life' is short in Jamaica, because unlike other countries, the sporting industry here is not as developed to accommodate professional transitions within the industry. "We don't have a lot of former track athletes, former footballers becoming media commentators as you see in other countries. That tends to be where they earn their living in later years," Gordon noted.
Gordon pointed to the case of Ireland, which has decided not to tax persons in creative industries that "carry their name and goodwill all over the world". "We need to see a similar situation like that. Because what you would get is people feeling comfortable to a greater degree, somebody may be more open to saying I played cricket for 16 weeks and made US$750,000. The tax man is not going to come knocking on your door tomorrow. That may inspire another 30 young fellows to say I want to do this, and more importantly convince their parents that this is a worthwhile endeavour, because that is a main part of our challenge in Jamaica," he said.
However, to supplement their income in the 'after-life' Gordon said athletes should aim to protect and monetise their brands and here greater emphasis should be placed on pro intellectual property. "Athletes have the right to protect and exercise their 'personality rights' as well. That is your image, your likeness, your name, etc.," Gordon said.
"There are different levels. What then happens is that there is a test as to your celebrity. So for example in Jamaica I would say Aileen Bailey probably would have a harder time convincing a UK court that she has celebrity status in the UK. But undoubtedly in Jamaica she would be able to establish that she has the right to commercially exploit her personality and her image because she is well known and loved here. A Usain Bolt easily could do that in virtually every country in the world. Asafa Powell can also," Gordon noted.
Bolt, who has become an international superstar for his exploits on the track, commands a significant amount in personality rights earning a reported US$20 million last year alone.
"For me that's a controversial question," Gordon said when quizzed on the value of personality rights for someone like Bolt. "Because yesterday one of the presenters said they have it on good authority that he could have earned US$20 million (J$1.72billion) last year in terms of contracts and endorsements," Gordon said. However, this is just a fraction of his earning potential when compared to other athletes of his calibre.
"My view is he's probably at the beginning of his earning potential. Tiger Woods is approaching US$1 billion. Tiger Woods is now 35 years old and with his recent unfortunate scandals, he no longer has the appeals he once enjoyed," noted Gordon.
Athletes like Bolt, argued Gordon, should not just earn fees for their performances, but protect their earnings by merchandising and making longer term investments.
"I think the athletes of today are more aware that they need to be financially savvy. That is one of the things that a seminar like this is geared towards."
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/busin...#ixzz1KCNxWlSY
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