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| Black and Blue |
Here
by KATIE HIND, Daily Mail 18:51pm 1st August 2006
The Rolling Stones have paid just 1.6 per cent tax on their earnings of £242 million over the past 20 years, it has emerged.
According to documents published in Holland, Sir Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards used offshore trusts and companies to ensure their extraordinary tax breaks.
Of the fortune they have accumulated since 1986 for their royalties, the trio have paid just £3.4 million in taxes.
The revelation of how they have managed to keep most of their fortune to themselves comes after they set up a will to ensure that their beneficiaries do not end up squabbling over their money when they die.
The band, who have been nicknamed 'the Strolling Bones', appear to have been spurred into action after Richards underwent life-saving brain surgery following a fall from a coconut tree earlier this year.
Sabine Schuttgens, a lawyer who is involved in setting up the Stones' trusts said: 'The foundations are to make sure that after the death of the rock stars there would be no argument among their heirs.'
News of their smart money management was leaked when Sir Mick, 63, drummer Watts, 65, and guitarist Richards, 62, reached a decision to hand over their estates to two foundations in Holland, the country where their fortunes have been secretly invested for the past 35 years.
The trusts will control the rights to the Stones' music, performances, merchandise and films.
However, Dutch law requires that certain information has to be made public which is how the revelation about their extraordinary tax break emerged.
The trio began banking in the Netherlands in 1972 - five years after they catapulted to fame - because, it is claimed, they did not trust British finance houses. In Dutch law, there is no direct tax on royalties.
They have been tax exiles ever since - meaning they cannot make Britain their main home. Their holding company Promogroup has offices in both Holland and the Caribbean so they can reduce tax liabilities.
As a latecomer to the band, 59-year-old Ronnie Wood, who replaced Brian Jones in the band in 1969 does not qualify to have his assets managed by the same group as the others.
Watts is said to be worth £80 million, however as main songwriters, Richards is worth £185 million while Sir Mick's fortune is as much as £205 million.
There is no record of Bill Wyman, 69, who left the band in 1992, in the registration for the trust either.
However Irish rock band U2 were obviously impressed by the Rolling Stone's tax breaks and they now share the Stones Dutch financial director, Jan Favie.
The original bad boys of rock, The Rolling Stones formed in 1962. Their debut single, Come On arrived in the charts a year later.
Although they regularly bring out new albums, they have made most of their money from touring - and it was estimated that their present A Bigger Bang tour, which performed in Amsterdam on Monday night and will arrive in Britain later this month, will have a turn over of £80million.
Since 1989 alone, they have accumulated a staggering £1.5 billion in receipts from touring.
Discuss
[Edited by Black and Blue] |
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| jb |
Fantastic news!!!! What a brilliant idea!!! I am jealous as I could never have even dreamed of that.
[Edited by jb] |
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| Poplar |
When playing the "what's available" game for the shows currently on sale i was struck by those "code words" you have to enter.
Some of teh ones i was presented:
"slithery" and "jobery"
this is, in fact, highway jobery. |
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| TampabayStone |
quote:
Black and Blue wrote:
Here
However Irish rock band U2 were obviously impressed by the Rolling Stone's tax breaks and they now share the Stones Dutch financial director, Jan Favie.
Discuss
[Edited by Black and Blue]
WTF, Bono does not want to pay taxes. I guess only his personal plights matter. Sounds like Kerry. |
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| corgi37 |
Good on 'em. Stick it to the man!
Lots of glaring errors in that article though. |
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| keefkid |
quote:
Poplar wrote:
When playing the "what's available" game for the shows currently on sale i was struck by those "code words" you have to enter.
Some of teh ones i was presented:
"slithery" and "jobery"
this is, in fact, highway jobery.
ahh thats funny one time i got 'crappy' and yes thats exactly what the seats were ... CRAPPY ... for $450 ...
its almost like they are MOCKING us...
haa |
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