Usain Bolt, tax campaigner

Living legend Usain Bolt is an unlikely mascot for those who campaign for reform of our tax system, but by confirming that he will continue to avoid competitions in the UK because of the amount of tax he would have to pay, he’s now the poster boy for the movement. If he attended races here, he would be taxed 50 per cent on his global sponsorship and endorsement earnings, and on any appearance fees he receives. The Treasury granted an exemption for the Olympics to ensure athletes would not stay away because of the hit on their earnings. ‘As soon as the law changes, I’ll be here all the time,’ Bolt said.

This has inevitably attracted the sort of moralising about paying tax that ministers normally make a superb mess of. The Staggers blog calls on Bolt to ‘reverse his stance’, asking whether it is ‘utopian to hope that athletes might be motivated by something other than money’.