The Beatles once commented that the "Taxman" was an unavoidable force but many British acts seem to think they can escape. Revelations from a recent report suggest that The Arctic Monkeys, George Michael and Katie Melua are among several big names that attempted to avoid taxation in the UK via a scheme with Liberty.
Liberty is a scheme by which wealthy clients could pay a fee in order to avoid significantly larger tax payments. The company, based out of Leeds, hid money in offshore accounts as "losses" to prevent the government from seeking income tax on them. For example, The Times of London suggests that members of The Arctic Monkeys had paid Liberty somewhere between £38,000 and £84,000 to prevent taxes on a sum between £557,000 and £1.1 million. Michael's sheltered earnings dwarfed those of the aforementioned band, as he is alleged to have hidden £6.2 million from taxation.
Tax dodging is a hot topic in England right now as many celebrities have been fingered for trying to keep their earnings safe from the government. As Music Times reported during May, Gary Barlow and other members of Take That were convicted of tax avoidance. Actor Michael Caine has also been accused of taking part in the Liberty Scheme, while soccer players David Beckham and Wayne Rooney are among those accused of doing the same thing through the Ingenious Media scheme.
The Arctic Monkeys and Michael didn't respond to the allegations, but a spokesperson for musician Katie Melua told reporters that the performer had paid off her debts to the HMRC, the UK's tax collection agency.
