Golf: Phil Mickelson may quit due to tax issues

By JOHN NICHOLSON
Published on 22/01/2013 03:30

PHIL Mickelson has hinted at a move away from California, perhaps the USA and maybe even away from golf as he seeks to escape punitive tax rates.

“It’s been an interesting off-season,” Mickelson said after the final round of the Humana Challenge. “And I’m going to have to make some drastic changes. I’m not going to jump the gun and do it right away, but I will be making some drastic changes.”

The 42-year-old said he would talk in more detail about his plans before his hometown Farmers Insurance Open, the San Diego-area event that starts on Thursday at Torrey Pines. “I’m not sure what exactly I’m going to do yet,” Mickelson said. “I’ll probably talk about it more in depth next week. I’m not going to jump the gun, but there are going to be drastic changes for me because I happen to be in that zone that has been targeted both federally and by the state and it doesn’t work for me right now.”

In November, California voters approved the first statewide tax increase since 2004. Mickelson lives in Rancho Santa Fe. “If you add up all the federal and you look at the disability and the unemployment and the Social Security and the state, my tax rate’s 62, 63 per cent,” Mickelson said. “So I’ve got to make some decisions on what I’m going to do.”