Sir Chris Hoy has defended his tax arrangements after it was reported that he received a loan from his own company.
Britain's most successful Olympic cyclist said neither he nor his company disguised remuneration and insisted that he takes his responsibilities as a taxpayer "as seriously as I do as an athlete".
He admitted taking a loan from his company in 2010 but said it was repaid in full in October 2011, adding that the practice is standard in most small companies in the country.
"The dividends that I took to repay the loan were in fact taxed at the highest rate," he said.
"I saw an opportunity to buy property and with the guidance of my advisers I borrowed money from my company to do so. The loan was subsequently repaid shortly thereafter by declaration of fully taxable dividends.
"Everything I have done is as a UK resident, and is UK taxable and not offshore."
The sports star, who carries the Olympic flame as it passes through Manchester, said he felt compelled to respond when The Guardian published a story about his financial affairs.
His income-generating activities are organised through a UK-registered tax-paying company, and as such his finances are transparent and in the public domain, he pointed out.
Sir Chris, 36, whose firm is Trackstars Limited, has received lottery funding. This stopped in October 2008 however.
"I am very proudly British and my responsibilities as a British sportsman do not stop once I step off the bike," he said. "I take my responsibilities as a taxpayer as seriously as I do as an athlete."
