Nothing Too Taxing For The Stones

The U.K. papers have picked up on a report in Germany’s Die Welt claiming The Rolling Stones only paid 1.6 percent tax on the £80 million the act earned during the last year.

The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent led the way with August 3rd stories saying Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts enjoy huge tax breaks by using offshore trusts and companies.

The rockers went to a Dutch finance house in 1972 to have their earnings managed from Amsterdam because they did not trust British finance houses, according to The Times. Their advisers reportedly use offices in the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean to reduce the band’s tax liabilities.

Ronnie Wood, who has a £90 million fortune, part of it from property development, has a different arrangement as he was not a founder of the band, The Daily Telegraph said.

The figures appeared in Die Welt after Rolling Stones Inc. decided to organize the individual members’ wills and, with a Dutch company involved, Netherlands law insists that the details are made public.

The papers are pitching the act’s earnings since 1989 to be around £1.2 billion, with income from the current “A Bigger Bang” world tour already up to £79.7 million.

– John Gammon