They call themselves the Glimmer Twins, but perhaps Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards should turn to solid gold.
Because it can be revealed that the Rolling Stones’ company made at least $180m (£142m) over nine years – but paid taxes amounting to less than 1 per cent of the total.
The Stones’ holding company, Promogroup BV, has been quietly raking in millions since 2013, Dutch Chamber of Commerce records show.
In the most recent documents, filed in March this year, the directors note that “accounts receivable” in the year January to December 2021 amounted to $25m (£20m). In that period they paid taxes worth $213,000 (£168,000).
The previous year, which ended in December 2020, they paid $75,000 (£60,000) in taxes, but reported receivables (including royalties, which are then counted as assets) of $33m (£26m) .
The Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger, pictured enjoying a concert in Barcelona in October last year. The band have earned a staggering $180m (£142m) in nine years.
Keith Richards, lead guitarist and half of the band’s songwriting duo, during a surprise celebration of their new album Hackney Diamonds at Racket NYC in October of last year.
The Stones celebrate 60 years in 2022 with a special tour to commemorate their decades at the forefront of rock’n’roll
Band members include Chalrie Watts, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Woods and Keith Richards. Watts sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of 80
Adding up the figures up to 2013, the company’s accounts receivable total $180.9m (£142m), but tax paid amounts to just $1.53m (£1.2m ), equivalent to a rate of 0.84 percent. There is no suggestion that Promogroup BV is paying anything more than the tax required by law, and it is not known how much additional tax the Stones as individuals pay.
In the company’s 2021 accounts, the group’s operating profit after deducting expenses and charges is $877,061 (£692,000), meaning they paid tax at a rate of 23.4 per cent.
Promogroup looks after the income of Sir Mick and Richards, as well as the estate of late drummer Charlie Watts. Guitarist Ronnie Wood handles his own tax affairs.
The gang have long sought legal ways to minimize their tax liability, and first went into exile in 1971, when they discovered they owed £250,000 to HM Revenue and Customs.
The Stones’ former financial advisor, the late Prince Rupert Loewenstein, created a series of Dutch corporations and trusts that helped them pay minimal taxes. Promogroup BV, founded by Prince Rupert in 1984, is the holding company.
Since 1998, the group’s business empire has been run by Dutch accountant Johannes Jan Favie from an address on Amsterdam’s exclusive Herengracht canal. The Stones’ lawyer, Joyce Smyth, has been supervising director since 2007.
Under Dutch law, profits derived from intellectual property, such as royalties, are not subject to tax, which has made the Netherlands a tax haven of choice for many international pop stars and music corporations, including U2 and EMI. .
Additionally, performers can create private Dutch foundations that allow them to transfer assets to their heirs tax-free when they die.
Jagger and Richards, pictured in 1963, are the writing duo The Glimmer Twins. Along with the rest of the gang they have become extremely rich.
The bandmates photographed in 2017 in Paris after announcing their No Filter tour
Ronnie Woods and his wife Sally at a soccer match between Barcelona and Real Madrid
Jagger and Woods enjoy the EA Sports La Liga match in October last year
Woods, Jagger and Richards are the only surviving bandmates and have earned more than $180 million (£142 million) in nine years, after paying out less than 1 per cent of the total.
Will Sir Mick like this? It is unclear how he plans to divide his £800million fortune, but he has eight children with five women, which may make him more interested in estate planning than most.
Meanwhile, Richards has four children: Marlon and Angela by Anita Pallenberg, and Theodora and Angela by his wife Patti Hansen.
Last year, Sir Mick said he had no intention of selling the Stones’ back catalogue, as many other legacy acts have done. He commented that his children “didn’t need” the $500 million the measure could generate.
In a previous interview the singer said: ‘No one likes to pay more for things than they are worth. My early childhood memories are of rationing, so I am frugal and despise people who waste things. I always turn off the lights. None of my American friends turn anything off. The televisions run all night.
He denied accusations, some made by his former partner Jerry Hall, that he was “tight”, saying: “I’m not tight at all.” I don’t know what that reputation is for.
When he and Hall split after having four children together, she reportedly received £10 million plus a share in their former marital home in Richmond, south-west London.
Sir Mick divides his time between his homes in Chelsea, the Caribbean, France and the United States. He is understood to be a non-dominant in the UK.
Richards lives in Connecticut and owns property in the Turks and Caicos Islands. He is said to be worth £295 million.
In his 2010 book Life, he said: “Mick would come visit me in Switzerland and talk to me about ‘economic restructuring.’ We’re sitting around half the time talking about tax lawyers.
A representative for the band did not respond to a request for comment.