Under UK tax rules, a sportsperson not resident in the UK would usually be subject to UK Income Tax on UK earnings including a proportion of any worldwide endorsement income. There is an exemption in place for sportspersons involved with the Olympic Games.

In addition, exemptions were granted by HMRC that apply to Corporation Tax and Income Tax for non-UK companies working on the Olympics between 30 March and 8 November 2012 as a condition of the London bidding process. This was just one of many conditions required by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for any country applying to host the games. The beneficiaries of this tax break include the IOC themselves.

A recent online petition which garnered more than 160,000 signatures has resulted in 14 of the games' biggest corporate sponsors agreeing not to use the tax exemptions available to them.