"We are not going to be lectured on tax affairs by tax exiles. The sight of ageing hippies on a tax scam telling the Chancellor what to do is not on," a senior Labour government source snorted after a group of ageing hippies, otherwise known as The Rolling Stones, announced they were cancelling the British leg of their Bridges to Babylon tour because of a £12 million bill due to changes in the tax system.
The British press has leapt on the split between Mick Jagger and New Labour's Cool Britannia as yet another example of Mr Tony Blair's failure to court and maintain the government's relationship with the music industry. After all, it wasn't that long ago that Damon Albarn of the group Blur and Jarvis Cocker, the lead signer with Pulp, accused the government of betrayal, while only this week the singers Billy Bragg and Paul Weller signed a letter to Mr Blair criticising Labour's policy on student fees.
In public, the Stones claimed they had cancelled the British tour dates this summer because crew members and roadies would bear the brunt of the huge tax bill following Mr Gordon Brown's abolition of the Foreign Earnings Tax Deduction. Privately, it seems Jagger wanted the show to go on: presumably he felt he was able, with his £140 million fortune, to absorb the bill. But Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, who lives in Co Kildare, apparently balked at the idea of parting with such a vast amount of money and pushed for the cancellation.
Fans and Tory MPs alike have blasted the group for acting like "money-grabbing has-beens" and with a group as successful and rich as The Rolling Stones it is not difficult to understand their criticism and the government's wish to save itself an estimated £250 million by closing the tax loophole.
Under the old system, British citizens working abroad were exempt from paying UK tax on their earnings provided they did not spend more than 62 days in the country during a tax year. Abolishing the package and back-dating it to Budget Day on March 17th, means that oversees workers who planned on staying out of the country for say, 15 months to take advantage of the tax break, will now be liable for UK tax on a full year's earnings from March 17th.
At least 200 of the backroom staff on The Rolling Stones tour would have been liable for a whole year's tax bill on their earnings from the US and European concerts if this year's concerts had gone ahead. And according to Mr Whiting, while "Mick and the middle-aged gentlemen" of the band would have been able to handle a £12 million bill, it would have spelt financial disaster for the roadies.
The Rolling Stones now look like joining a growing number of UK artists with tax problems. David Bowie spends little time in Britain, but he will be liable for a huge tax bill on his British dates. And while a spokeswoman for the Spice Girls refused to discuss the band's finances apart from confirming their Wembley concert this summer, the band is expected to lose £2 million due to the changes in the tax law.
There has also been speculation that the departure of Ginger Spice means Virgin Records and the remaining Spices will lose millions of pounds in cancelled contracts that were signed with the understanding that the group would appear as a complete package.
But in the end, it is the fans who are losing out. Laura Lee Davis, the music editor of Time Out magazine says the Stones have a lot to answer for: "If rock bands are going to start bleating because their millions are not going to be quite as many millions as they were hoping for, it is the end of an era."
The Rolling Stones yesterday announced they are to play in Moscow for the first time in their 30year career. "We have always attempted to pioneer massive tours into new territories," Mick Jagger said in a statement announcing details of the gig on August 11th.