Jorge Lorenzo bares his chest after defeating the Spanish Treasury and defends paying taxes in Switzerland

Lorenzo, who resides in Lugano, defends “the reasonable tax regime, less aggressive and confiscatory than that of other places” as one of the arguments for having established his residence in Switzerland, which Fernando Alonso also did in his day. Other motor sportsmen, such as Joan Mir, decided on Andorra for the same reason.

“Although the Swiss authorities insisted that my situation was perfectly legal, the Spanish Treasury always questioned everything. They sent hundreds of requests to my sponsors and teams and sought not only information, but my discredit before the public opinion, making me appear in the media as a fraud. They even sent emissaries to the paddock to force me to sign paperwork minutes before the start of a race […]. I had to advance the money they demanded from me to avoid embargoes and humiliating situations. A real mockery […]. They went so far as to make me fall mentally […]. At the end of June last year I saw the light because the Central Administrative Economic Court gave me the right for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. A strong resolution that annulled the settlements that I had made and that made give me my money back. But there was never a reparation for the harm that had been done to me. No compensation for damages. no apologies Nothing”.

Lorenzo, who is retired from competition and is a commentator on DAZN, receives: “Taxes are necessary and if the money is managed well, which is not always the case, it is a matter of pride to contribute. But it is also undeniable that the taxes are to be paid where you live. Inland Revenue started a witch hunt against me and thought they had found the perfect Turk’s head. They were wrong. Now nobody is going to give me back my sleepless nights or the peace I needed to focus on racing.”