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Millionaire Premier League stars face hefty fines after being busted dodging tax on plush supercars

MILLIONAIRE Premier League footballers are driving luxury cars without paying tax, a Sun probe reveals today.

England ace Raheem Sterling's flash Audi has not been taxed for more than seven months, while Arsenal star Francis Coquelin's £90k Range Rover has never been taxed since it was new over a year ago.

 Raheem Sterling has not paid tax on his fancy Audi in six months
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Raheem Sterling has not paid tax on his fancy Audi in six monthsCredit: CHRIS NEILL/MAVERICK PHOTOGRAPHY
 Coquelin had not paid tax on his Range Rover for two months
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Coquelin had not paid tax on his Range Rover for two months

Manchester City's £180k-a-week midfielder Sterling, 21 - a key member of Roy Hodgson's Euro 2016 squad in France - was spotted leaving his club's Etihad training complex last month in a racy £85,000 Audi S7 Sportback.

DVLA records show the 3-litre sports car - repainted from white to trendy matt black - had not been taxed since October last year, up until our picture was taken.

It is just one of at least six flash cars in the £49m winger's collection including two Range Rovers, a sporty Merc and a teeny £12k Smart Car.

Sterling's £85k-a-week City teammate Aleksandar Kolarov was also snapped flouting the law in a gas-guzzling 5.5-litre Mercedes-AMG S63 coupe costing £125,000.

The Serbian international, 30 - who has been caught speeding twice – was almost three months late renewing the £500 tax due on the swish motor.

Meanwhile, we found £20k-a-week French starlet Coquelin, 25, has apparently failed for more than a year to pay the £270 vehicle excise duty on the special edition Range Rover he was seen driving from Arsenal's training ground in Colney, Herts.

 Kolarov had not paid tax on his stunning Merc for two months
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Kolarov had not paid tax on his stunning Merc for two months

The three-ton customised offroader was registered new in April last year - but it has been untaxed since the day it left the showroom, according to official records.

We also caught another Arsenal player in an untaxed BMW, while a Spurs star was a month overdue on his Range Rover - although he later paid his tax to begin the following month, leaving it untaxed for one month in between.

All potentially face fines of up to £1,000 each if they are caught by cops and could have the cars impounded and sold at auction.

The Sun Online's exclusive investigation also found a galaxy of footie superstars driving on overseas number plates, which cannot be traced by UK authorities and are not taxed.

The law allows visitors to drive on foreign plates for up to six months in a year without paying car tax - but permanent residents must register for UK plates and tax imported vehicles immediately.

Leading Prem stars we found driving foreign motors include Arsenal aces Mesut Ozil and Serge Gnabry, both spotted in German registered Mercs, and teammate Nacho Monreal in a Spanish registered Audi.

Manchester United FA Cup winner Marouane Fellaini has Belgian plates on his Audi while Sergio Romero drives a white Lamborghini registered in an unidentified country.

At Prem champions Leicester City, Argentine striker Leonardo Ulloa drives a black Porsche on Spanish plates while midfielder Gokhan Inler's matt black Audi is registered in his native Switzerland.

Man City's motor-mad midfielder Yaya Toure has a £1m fleet of foreign registered supercars including two huge Rollers.

He recently bought a customised £350,000 Rolls Royce Phantom to go with his £250,000 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith.

And he also has a Mercedes Brabus 850 worth £300,000, a £90,000 Porsche 911 Carerra and a £150,000 Mercedes G-Class jeep.

All are on foreign plates even though he has lived in the UK for six years.

The Ivory Coast captain - who admitted speeding at 101mph on the M6 last year in one of his Porsches - has also been spotted in a Porsche Cayenne with no front number plate, in breach of the law.

 Mesut Ozil has been driving a black Merc with foreign plates
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Mesut Ozil has been driving a black Merc with foreign plates
 Gokhan Inler was spotted driving a matt black Audi with Swiss plates
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Gokhan Inler was spotted driving a matt black Audi with Swiss plates

A DVLA spokesman suggested footballers driving around in foreign cars is illegal as the players live and work in the UK for more than six months a year.

He said: "The real spirit of it is about residency. If people are working and living over here they should be residents.

"The law says if you are working here you should register your car immediately, you don't have six months - that's a bit of a red herring.

"If you're living, staying and working here you should register your vehicle straight away."

The spokesman added driving a motor with a foreign plate even ONCE could cause them to have their plush motor impounded.

Celebrity loophole lawyer Nick Freeman said people can get around paying tax by acting as a visitor to the UK and taking the car out of the country at least once every 12 months, before bringing it back in.

He explained if the car leaves the country and re-enters, the owner does not need to pay tax as the 12-month period reboots.

 Yaya Toure has had a fleet of foreign cars over the past 12 months
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Yaya Toure has had a fleet of foreign cars over the past 12 months
 Leicester player Leonardo Ulloa is another footie star caught with foreign plates
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Leicester player Leonardo Ulloa is another footie star caught with foreign plates

Authorities also admit it is almost impossible to track how long vehicles have actually been in the UK, leaving a loophole for potential tax dodgers.

The DVLA says this is against the law and says they are working on tightening regulations to catch tax-shirkers.

Players could also be dodging parking fines and speeding tickets, as well as tax, by racing around in the foreign cars.

"Mr Loophole" Freeman said: "It makes cameras and most police restrictions impotent because we have no record of who's driving on a foreign license.

"Cameras and parking tickets are pretty redundant, and that's the benefit [for people]."

 Marouane Fellaini was spotted in a black Audi with Belgian plates
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Marouane Fellaini was spotted in a black Audi with Belgian plates
 Serge Gnabry has a white Mercedes with foreign plates
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Serge Gnabry has a white Mercedes with foreign plates

Other players are flouting road laws by driving with no front number plate - risking a £1,000 fine and failing their MoT.

Leicester's Danny Simpson has also been seen in a Lamborghini with no front plate, and we saw Ferraris breaking the same law at Arsenal and Spurs and a Lamborghini and Manchester City.

The DVLA said 99 per cent of drivers pay their car tax and it takes tough action against those who shirk their dues.

A spokesman said: “Everyone who lives in the UK must register and tax their vehicle before they use it.

"Drivers get plenty of reminders to tax and we take action against those determined to break the law.

"This includes clamping and towing vehicles away.”

 Nacho Monreal was also spotted driving a car with foreign plates in the UK
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Nacho Monreal was also spotted driving a car with foreign plates in the UK
 Danny Simpson was spotted getting into a Lamborghini with no front plates
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Danny Simpson was spotted getting into a Lamborghini with no front plates

Untaxed motors cost the Treasury an estimated £80m last year and more than 100,000 untaxed motors were clamped by authorities.

Any not reclaimed by their owners - who have to pay the back tax plus hefty fines and release fees - will be crushed or sold at auction.

A representative for Kolarov insisted the tax has been paid and says there are now no outstanding arrears.

He added: "He sent the cheque on time, the DVLA sent it back and then he sent another cheque."

Simpson's agent said his car does have a front plate and claims it was photographed without one when the Leicester star was waiting to have his personalised plate fixed on by Lamborghini.

 Sergio Romero has a plush white Lamborghini with foreign plates
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Sergio Romero has a plush white Lamborghini with foreign plates

Sterling, Toure's and Coquelin's agents declined to comment.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Leicester were also unavailable for comment.

In April, former West Ham star Jack Collison was left red-faced after tweeting an appeal to find his Merc after it was stolen outside a casino - only for fans to point out he had not paid his car tax.

And in March Man City star Samir Nasri's £330k Lamborghini Aventador with German plates was reportedly impounded by cops as it was not registered to drive in the UK.


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