MILLIONAIRE sports stars such as Lleyton Hewitt, Shane Warne and Mark Viduka would be forced to pay back the cost of their government-sponsored training under plans for a dramatic expansion of the HECS system.
The architect of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme, economist Bruce Chapman, is urging the Rudd Government to expand it to the training of top athletes, as well as drought relief for farmers and even the payment of court fines.
Professor Chapman, who is hosting a conference on expanding income-contingent loans in August, said athletes should contribute to their training when they went on to make millions.
"Take Lleyton Hewitt, he's a multi-millionaire," he said. "You could say to Hewitt, 'Listen, sport, we gave you $50,000 in training, and in any year that you earn over $100,000, we would want some back - say $10,000'.
"You could plough the money back into the AIS. It's a much better way of doing it."
Hewitt's manager, David Drysdale, told The Australian the tennis star received AIS support for only one year when he was a junior and did not live at the institute.
Mr Drysdale said Hewitt worked hard for charity, did not try to avoid tax by basing himself overseas and had repaid the small amount he received with "the pleasure and entertainment he's given the Australian public over the years and the fact that he's such a proud Australian".
Professor Chapman's ANU colleague Richard Denniss is preparing a paper listing the 50 top-earning sports stars and the extent of taxpayer-funded training they received. A year on a full AIS scholarship is roughly valued at $50,000.
Research Dr Denniss conducted about five years ago found Hewitt, with gross earnings of more than $18 million, topped the rich list of athletes who had received Australian Institute of Sport support.
Others included millionaire soccer stars Mark Viduka, Craig Moore, and Marco Bresciano; cricketers Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Glen McGrath; cyclist Robbie McEwen; runner Cathy Freeman and swimmer Michael Klim. Dr Denniss said tennis star Jelena Dokic was a classic example of where the HECs system could be applied.
"The Australian taxpayer paid an enormous amount of money into training her. Apart from the fact that she made bucketloads of cash, she decided she was going to go and play for Serbia," he said. In recent years, Dokic has competed for Australia.
In his latest paper, Dr Denniss wants to include details of athletes basing themselves in overseas tax havens, as Pat Rafter did throughout the most profitable years of his tennis career.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23732545-2,00.html
