It has now emerged that Sir Chris Hoy, Britain's multiple Olympic gold medal
winning cyclist, has also received a loan from his own company.

The latest accounts of Hoy's Trackstars Ltd state: "At 30 June 2011 Sir Chris
Hoy owed the company £324,771 (2010, £898 – owed from the company). This amount
was unsecured and interest free with no fixed repayment terms. During the year
dividends totalling £130,000 (2010, £440,000) were paid to Sir Chris Hoy."

To put that in English, in 2010 Hoy received £440,000 in dividends, which
attract taxes not hugely dissimilar from salary.

But while he received about £455,000 from the company during 2011, £325,000
came via the open-ended company loan, which attracts minimal tax. It is not
clear from the accounts if Hoy's move, which is legal, resulted in a tax
saving.

Having seen Hoy's disclosure, one tax expert who asked not to be named, said:
"It is likely that such arrangements could come under attack under the
'disguised remuneration' rules recently introduced by the Treasury."

In a statement, Hoy's agent, Rob Woodhouse, said: "Trackstars Ltd is a UK
registered taxpaying company established for legitimate commercial purposes.
Neither [Hoy] nor the company participates in any 'disguised remuneration'
scheme.

"[He] has not received any lottery funding since October 2008. He has continued
his promotional obligations as a member of the governing bodies' lottery funded
world class programmes."

Woodhouse declined to explain why Hoy had taken out the loan in the same year
as his dividend was slashed by an almost identical figure.

He also would not say if Hoy had repaid any of the loan, or if the Olympian had
made a tax saving. Hoy's accountants, Edinburgh-based Jeffrey Crawford & Co,
did not return phone calls.

Directors' loans started to become known as a tax avoidance tactic after a
number of Premier League footballers used such schemes.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012...ived-loan-firm