Arctic Monkeys Tax Avoidance

[autoinflate]

The truth is that a lot people will save a bit of tax given the chance. I bet a few of the folks criticising AM here have done a bit of cash in hand work, paid the plumber in notes to avoid the VAT, bought cheap cigs etc.

At what scale does it become immorral?

[autoinflate]

[eFestivals]

The truth is that a lot people will save a bit of tax given the chance. I bet a few of the folks criticising AM here have done a bit of cash in hand work, paid the plumber in notes to avoid the VAT, bought cheap cigs etc.

At what scale does it become immorral?

while the crime is the same, the effect is not.

It's much like trying to claim that a punch in the gut and being stabbed are the same. They're both a physical assault, after all.

[Guest]

Every artist whether headliner or not who has a record deal and and agent avoids tax whether it be knowingly or otherwise.

[zahidf]

I think the amount is the issue. The amount of tax dodging by individuals under that scheme lead to deaths due to undefunding of service. An extra undeclared tenner doesn't

[autoinflate]

Nah, a punch in the gut is a totally different crime to a stabbing. The tax examples are different too, certainly in the eyes of the law. The petty examples of tax theft I listed are illegal, whereas tax avoidance schemes aren't.

Anyway, I spose my point is that it's easy for someone to take the moral high ground over AM, but if they're doing the same thing on a smaller scale it's a bit hypocritical and also indicates that their attitude to tax avoidance may well scale up with their own wealth

[Ruwise]

The point is that people/corporations who can most afford to pay it choose not to thus making the tax burden on those of us who don't have the choice much worse. Look at Russia where there are serious penalties for not paying tax regardless of who you are and they have a flat rate of 6% for all. If we held millionaire and multi-national corporations accountable too then we could all pay less tax and still have better public services.

[jonodillieono]

a member of my extended family is one of the 'owners' (I forget what the owners are officially called now). There was no need to hire a roller for that wedding.

I've never met such a bunch of worthless and racist c**ts as that family.

More people should get to personally know these type of people. The world would change a lot quicker.

[DanielofGlastonbury]

No doubt they had to do it because the likes of Spotify pay them too little in royalties (Not saying the Arctic Monkeys in particular have umbrage with streaming services but it does make you feel less sorry for artists when they'll use measures such as this.)

[eFestivals]

Always wanted to work for pwc but I don't think I've got a chance of getting my foot in the door as theres nothing particularly special about me, I just meet their basic criteria to apply

don't worry, there's nothing special about PwC either - it's simply part of the world's biggest legal fraud.

It doesn't take brains when the system has been written so you can't lose.

[Mr.Tease]

So what you're trying to say is you can get me a job after uni?

Always wanted to work for pwc but I don't think I've got a chance of getting my foot in the door as theres nothing particularly special about me, I just meet their basic criteria to apply

[dentalplan]

No doubt they had to do it because the likes of Spotify pay them too little in royalties (Not saying the Arctic Monkeys in particular have umbrage with streaming services but it does make you feel less sorry for artists when they'll use measures such as this.)

[Ruwise]

I hope you find something more fulfilling- I've seen people go to firms like that after uni, and they look dead inside after a few months! That 'special' something they look for is an absence of soul and an abundance on greed!

[DanielofGlastonbury]

This avoidance scheme is a few years dead I believe. Before the growth of streaming services.

[wilko8]

It's worth bearing in mind that hmrc are absolutely and unequivocally useless. Even if everyone in the uk was willing to pay their full tax liability, hmrc couldn't be trusted to collect it correctly!!

[pentura]

No doubt they had to do it because the likes of Spotify pay them too little in royalties (Not saying the Arctic Monkeys in particular have umbrage with streaming services but it does make you feel less sorry for artists when they'll use measures such as this.)

[ivan]

The number of artists that have been ripped off by their managers shows how little artists know about

the financial side of their own business.

From memory

The Charlatans

Primal Scream

Willy Nelson

have all been robbed by their own managers

and Pink Floyd lost a s**t load did they not ?

So I an a way you can sympathise with the Arctics who have probably been given the wrong advice and told to "sign here "

[DanielofGlastonbury]

I use Spotify Artist services and the rate Spotify pay for royalties is shocking, it's a tiny fraction of a cent / penny. But based on the top 5 AM songs on Spotify there's like 160 Million plays, which means they'll still get a fair amount of money for those. And that's only the top 5, spread over a number of albums and singles I'd say they're quids in on Spotify alone. Never mind iTunes and any other online music platform.

I'd say it was down to, as someone mentioned earlier, them being approached saying "I can save you this much money, and it'll cost you only this much" while Alex Turner lights his cigarettes with a 50 and gets caviar fed to him by Miles Kane

[toppo]

Tip of the iceberg. You make a profit in this country from people in this country you pay tax in this country. Why can't it be this simple. Just imagine if Vodafone Starbucks Google Boots Apple Amazon to name a few all paid tax at the level it is in this country austerity wouldn't have happened and numerous unions including my own wouldn't need to strike on Thursday

[pentura]

I know the rates are pretty absymal & my post about it being Spotify' s fault was somewhat tongue in cheek. It was more a parting shot at artists that complain they get paid next to nothing yet will spend thousands to save millions. Pot. Kettle. Black.

Again, not saying AM have ever complained but I guess it's a little annoying it's more about the money than the music. I'd like to think if I was a millionaire I'd pay my fair share to live in my country.

[UEF]

Tip of the iceberg. You make a profit in this country from people in this country you pay tax in this country. Why can't it be this simple. Just imagine if Vodafone Starbucks Google Boots Apple Amazon to name a few all paid tax at the level it is in this country austerity wouldn't have happened and numerous unions including my own wouldn't need to strike on Thursday

[eFestivals]

It's worth bearing in mind that hmrc are absolutely and unequivocally useless. Even if everyone in the uk was willing to pay their full tax liability, hmrc couldn't be trusted to collect it correctly!!

Yeah, because it's nothing to do with rich politicians writing the rules that HMRC works to to benefit the rich, or anything.

It's not like the staff have been decimated, and the chances of your tax affairs being investigated is once in a thousand years or anything (up from once in 143 years less than 15 years ago).

Or that the rich now decide for themselves how much tax they pay, as caused by the way the govt have HMRC working as suggested by those w*nker accountancy firms.

[eFestivals]

If they did indeed 'pay tax' in this country they probably wouldn't quite be the names they are today. They'd be Woolworths.

You can't just change one thing in a theoretical scenario and expect everything else to remain the same - cause and effect doesn't work like that.

While I agree with the principle of your second para, the first is utter bullshit.

Woolworths was unprofitable and unsustainable as unprofitable.

Nothing of that applies to any of Vodafone Starbucks Google Boots Apple Amazon.

[Guest]

I saw this posted on another forum, http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/john-niven-gary-barlow-should-3561031

It a nutshell it states that you don't get into a tax avoidance scheme without knowing full well what you're doing. I don't pretend to know a lot about these things, but it seem pretty legit.

[eFestivals]

I saw this posted on another forum, http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/john-niven-gary-barlow-should-3561031

It a nutshell it states that you don't get into a tax avoidance scheme without knowing full well what you're doing. I don't pretend to know a lot about these things, but it seem pretty legit.

That's a great article, that lays it all bare.

Barlow who only sees himself, and Rowling who sees the world.

Edited July 9, 2014 by eFestivals