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Spanish tax authorities have been stepping up their game in recent months, and now they have two high-profile cases to show for their hard work. This matters in the two-wheeled universe because one of the case involves former MotoGP racer Sete Gibernau.

According to prosecutors in Barcelona, Gibernau defrauded the Spanish government of roughly €2.8 million. Gibernau on the other-hand says that during the time in question, from 2005 to 2006, he did not live in Spain, but instead lived in Switzerland.

Spanish prosecutors however state that Gibernau did not live in Switzerland, like he says, but instead lived in Esplugues de Llobregat, a province in Catalunya.

The Spanish Supreme Court has imposed multi-million dollar fines on Dorna Sports and its executives for tax offenses arising out of the sale of shares in 2003 and 2004.

The court found that Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and COO & CFO Enrique Aldama had simulated the sale of shares in order to avoid paying income tax and to receive undeclared dividends from the shares the two men hold.

The ruling of the Division of Administrative Litigation of the Supreme Court was that Dorna Sports S.L. sold shares to a separate company owned by the same partners (including Ezpeleta and Aldama) who were selling the shares.

The share purchase was financed using debt held in part by the partners who owned the company buying the shares. Dorna claimed that this was a form of leveraged recapitalization, but the Supreme court disagreed with that assessment.

In reality, the Supreme Court ruled, Dorna and its executives were pursuing a means of receiving hidden dividends.

If you’ve already filed your 2014 tax return, you might want to make an addendum before April 15th, as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made several last-minute exemption to the US Tax Code, one of which allows motorcyclists to claim up to $500 on a new helmet purchase as tax deductible.

The move comes about after a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study that suggested billions of dollars could be saved if all motorcyclists wore helmets.

Citing the efforts of groups like the  American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) whose anti-helmet political agenda has resonated the most with the same anti-tax libertarians who routinely fail to pay federal income taxes, the IRS has finally decided to fight fire with fire, and believes it has effectively found a way to bring a non-compliant tax group in line with the law.

Marco Melandri has been given a suspended jail term of one year and seven months for tax evasion by a court in his home town of Ravenna. Melandri was found guilty of trying to evade taxes during the period he lived in Derby, in the UK, the court finding that Melandri’s residence for tax purposes should have been in Ravenna, Italy, Melandri’s home town.

Melandri was a resident in the UK to take advantage of the British non-domiciled resident status, which allows wealthy non-UK citizens with large incomes from sources outside the UK to avoid paying tax on that income. Melandri was one of several riders who had elected to have their residence in Britain for precisely that reason.

Two months ago when Harley-Davidson stuck an ultimatum to its union workers, the company asked for work force concessions while it threatend to move production out of its Tomahawk and Menomonee Falls. Hoping to help sway the vote and keep Harley put, the State of Wisconsin extended Harley-Davidson a $25 million tax incentive to help lure the company into keeping production at its Wisconsin facilities. While the unions eventually caved to Harley-Davidson’s will, the Bar & Shield company announced today that it will not be taking Wisconsin up on its offer for tax breaks.

There must have been someone going around the MotoGP paddock many years back, handing out bad financial advice to any rider they could find, because Loris Capirossi is now the second MotoGP rider (that we here at A&R can think of), that’s been slapped with an income tax evasion fine in the past few years.

Capirex, like Valentino Rossi before him, has found himself on the wrong-end of the law, after losing an appeal to his charge of income tax evasion, and accordingly must pay a €2 million fine for his actions.

UPDATE: The Italian Order of Accountants has ruled against Rossi, who now has 40 days to appeal their decision.

After settling an unpaid tax-debt with the Italian government in 2008, Valentino Rossi paid nearly €30 million in back-taxes with the help of accounting firm Cesaroni-Cappellini. The firm saved Rossi nearly €150 million, and was entitled by contract to ~1% of the MotoGP star’s savings.

Doing some quick judo-math, that’s nearly a €3 million tab (€1.7M-€2.5M to be exact) that Rossi has racked up at Cesaroni-Cappellini, and according to the firm Rossi has yet to actually pay them for their services.

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The Federal stimulus package signed into law yesterday is laddened with initiatives designed to help boost our nation’s economy. None of these provisions, however, will affect the die-hard motorcyclist more than the provision, which allows motorcycle buyers to deduct the sales and excise taxes on their 2009 tax return. Yeah, you really just read that. If you buy a motorcycle under $49,500 and subject to certain restrictions, you can take the tax portion of the OTD price and subtract it from your tax statement next April 15th. How much a buyer benefits will depend on the taxes paid and their personal tax situation, but it the case of your typical sportbike, that’s still nearly a grand off your taxes.

Motorcycle dealers counting on a big boost will not find it here and would be far better served by concentrating on building their business and delivering excellent customer service.