The tax haven of Bermuda has been picked over San Diego to host the 2017 Americas Cup, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person said software billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp. made the decision after consulting with the CEO of his sailing team, Russell Coutts, a New Zealander who also is director of the Americas Cup Event Authority. The choice of the British territory is intriguing, from its location at the northern tip of the Bermuda Triangle to the financial incentives that include tax-free status for regatta participants. Its also sure to be unpopular with traditionalists and could mean the end of powerhouse Emirates Team New Zealand and perhaps other challengers. This will be the first time a U.S. defender holds the Americas Cup outside the United States. It also will be the first time in the regattas 163-year history that a defender sails the races in foreign waters by choice rather than necessity. In 2007 and 2010, Alinghi of Switzerland held the Americas Cup in Valencia, Spain, because it wasnt practical to race on Lake Geneva. Before he won the Americas Cup in 2010, Ellison, one of the worlds richest men with a fortune estimated at $52 billion, spoke of how he wanted to return the silver trophy to the United States after a 15-year absence. Now hes taking it offshore after just one cycle in America. San Diego hosted the Americas Cup in 1988, 1992 and 1995. In 1995, Coutts skippered Team New Zealand to a five-race sweep of Dennis Conner for the first of Coutts five Americas Cup victories for three different countries. According to the U.S. PIRG and Citizens for Tax Justice, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are the top tax havens for American corporations to legally reduce their federal tax liability. Sailors and other members of Americas Cup syndicates are expected to benefit from tax breaks offered by Bermuda. Some Americas Cup sailors earn six-figure salaries. Others in the sport, such as Coutts, are paid millions of dollars a year. Bonuses are a big part of their pay packages. Three of the six teams currently entered are owned by billionaires. Oracle Team USA is owned by Ellison; Italys Luna Rossa Challenge is owned by Patrizio Bertelli, husband of Miuccia Prada of the Prada fashion house; and Swedens Artemis Racing is owned by Torbjorn Tornquvist.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 05:22:59 +0000