The Good Guys in the Tax Row Are… One Direction!

One Direction may not be to everyone’s musical taste. But there’s no denying that sometimes they get it absolutely right. We’re not talking about their newest single (even if it is pretty catchy). We’re talking about tax (of course!).
One Direction (or 1D as the cool kids say), comprise of Niall, Liam, Harry, and Louis (and until March 2015, there was Zayn as well). They were put together on ITV’s The X Factor and finished third on the show in 2010. They have been phenomenally successful over the past five years, with a plethora of hit singles. And they are extremely popular with young girls; 1D pencil cases and backpacks sell incredibly well. They have also won a slew of awards.
And in these days of complaints, it’s refreshing to find something good to say when it comes to celebrities and tax. As we’ve mentioned Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Starbucks (amongst many other large companies) have paid very little when it comes to tax, despite making huge profits throughout the year.
One Direction, however, which is another company, and each of the band members is a director, have paid a whopping £10.47 million to HMRC (£8.24 million of that was UK corporation tax). This comes from a turnover of £73.7 million, and a post-tax profit of £34.98 million.
So perhaps One Direction really are role models for the next generation of business owners. It would be nice to think so.