Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet in Saudi Arabia this weekend and the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years will be crowned. But aside from the prestige, the winner is set for a hefty prize money bonus, which the Gypsy King is said to skip tax on his revenue from the bout.
Last year, an agreement was struck that would entitle Fury to a 70/30 split of the purse, which the Independent claim will net him around £116million. One of Usyk’s stipulations was that Fury would donate £1m of his own earnings to Ukraine, though could escape the taxman from further deductions to his income.
Dr Rob Wilson, the Head of Department for Finance, Accounting & Business Systems at Sheffield Hallam University, claims that Fury likely stands to benefit from Saudi Arabia’s favourable tax conditions on international events and may have a tax-free deal on his revenue in the Kingdom.
« Normally what you get in tax domiciles is a percentage of your earnings as a participation in work would be gained in the country that the earnings were generated, which is Saudi Arabia,” Wilson explained to OLBG.
“You would imagine he has a deal in place that the revenues are tax-free, but then you would be required to pay tax on any earnings in his home country, which is obviously the United Kingdom, based on whatever the associated costs were for training that he undertook prior to leaving for Saudi.
“It’s really difficult to put a formal number on the exact amount. But what you can be assured of is that Tyson will be getting some very high-level accountancy advice.”
Fury, who along with two of his brothers were ordered to pay nearly £100,000 in unpaid business rates in December, will still need to pay some tax in both Saudi and the UK. But financial expert Wilson has claimed that the accountancy team behind Fury will have “maximised” the take-home figure for the Gypsy King.
“So whilst undoubtedly he will pay some tax, I think it will be a very efficient tax discussion that he has,” Wilson added. « He will maximise the personal revenue he can generate and then pay a requisite amount of tax in both Saudi Arabia and the UK.”
The fight had been cancelled once previously due to a cut eye that Fury sustained during sparring. If such an event occurs again, not only would Fury and Usyk be denied a substantial payday but Turki Alalshikh (chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority) has revealed that a withdrawal from either competitor will see them pay their opponent a whopping £8m.
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