Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: F1 champ has sweet tax deal

Wednesday, June 27, 2001 | 9:39 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

Although an increasing number of professional athletes are moving to Las Vegas to take advantage of the favorable tax breaks, don't look for Formula One champion Michael Schumacher to join that list.

The three-time F1 champ already has a sweet deal as a resident of Switzerland.

A German newspaper recently reported that Schumacher is paying less than $1 million a year in taxes despite the fact he earns an estimated $30 million annually -- plus incentives -- driving for Ferrari.

Swiss tax authorities consider Schumacher, a German national, as a "foreigner without income," which allows him to pay taxes based on his expenses rather than his income.

Swiss officials refuse to say how much tax Schumacher pays, but a Munich newspaper estimated that he is paying $196,000 a year for the estate he is renting. On that basis, he would be paying $980,000 in taxes a year.

Schumacher, the reigning F1 champion, has five wins in nine races this season and has a commanding 24-point lead over Britain's David Coulthard heading into the second half of the season.

Officials from both CART and MIS were vague about the reasons for the move, although declining attendance the past few years appears to be a reason.

"Each race we consider must make business sense for us, our shareholders and investors and our race promoter," CART chairman and CEO Joe Heitzler said. "In this instance, it was determined that it is in the best interest of our race series to look at other alternatives."

It took Johnstone, a licensed pilot, Murphy, and a flight instructor 31 hours, 16 minutes and 37 seconds to touch down at all 96 airports -- including 22 grass and gravel runways.

The stunt raised more than $10,000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the American Diabetes Association.

"For the life of me, I don't know how they can do so many laps (400) there in those big NASCARs. I think that 250 laps for us is going to make for a very grueling race."