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Beenie Man's tax woes have caused artistes to become more mindful of declaring their earnings.
The artistes are now being very careful not to disclose too much about their earnings publicly for fear that the tax collectors might come knocking.
Many, including Beenie Man's former manager, Patrick Roberts of Shocking Vibes Limited, felt that tax collectors had based their assessment of his value on utterances Beenie made. Roberts told the Star that some of what Beenie said was "not true, but was said just to keep himself in the hype".
Since then, other artistes have become reticent. One artiste, who was recently interviewed by THE STAR, begged that no mention be made of the fact that he was currently performing on shows overseas. "Nuh bodda sey a show mi deh ova yah a do, mi nuh want everybody know dat, cause yuh done know, wid all a di tax ting dem wey a gwaan yah now," the artiste said.
Too caught up
Burru Banton deejayed on Killamanjaro. - file
However, veteran artiste Buru Banton says although things were different back in his heyday, some of the artistes today are too caught up in the hype and 'flossing' and as in Beenie's case, attract the wrong kind of attention.
"When we use to deejay dem time deh a hundred an two hundred dolla mi a mek, a afta Shabba time money did really start mek," Banton said.
But according to Banton, "everybody a guh ketch dem fraid yah now cause it look like sey dem man yah (tax collectors) nuh out fi gi wey nutt'n. But why a think dem ting yah reach dem, like Beenie, a to di hypeness. Cause which Government really know wah you guh out guh buy an dem ting deh?" "A you come a road come talk it," Buru said.
He continued, "all sometimes a wah yuh put inna yuh songs to him sey, 'mi a millionaire from mi a twenty', plus di heavy flossing wey a gwaan an people a look pon certain tings, like all di time Beenie turn ova him Humma an den come pon T.V come sey him buy back one, not even fi try lie an sey a di same one mi beat out?"
But other high profile entertianers like Elephant Man, believe that 'flossing' does not attract tax problems, so long as you pay up.
Party hard and floss
Elephant Man
Elephant Man says he intends to continue to party hard and 'floss' as usual, because he has reliable persons around him who attend to the business aspect of his career, ensuring that things like his taxes are taken care of.
"My flossing nuh really have nutt'n fi do wid di tax people, me pay my taxes. Yuh cyan tax people tru dem party an floss hard? Wi haffi enjoy wi self cause wi work hard, an a jus we fi mek sure sey wi have wi manager ar people wey wi trus fi tek care a dah side deh like paying taxes. Mi have my management wey tek care a dah side deh an mek sure sey every ting good, a Q45 deal wid my ting, cause mi have faith inna him fi tek care a dah part while we party," Elephant Man said.
He also added, "if yuh nuh have somebody fi deal wid dah part a di business wey yuh have faith inna, den you haffi jus mek sure deal wid it yuh self."
Beenie Man is said to owe the Government $29.29 million in back taxes and $18.64 million in penalties, bringing the outstanding amount to $47.93 million. When he last appeared before the court, the deejay said he was not aware that he had outstanding payments and said his management team was responsible for such business.
The artistes are now being very careful not to disclose too much about their earnings publicly for fear that the tax collectors might come knocking.
Many, including Beenie Man's former manager, Patrick Roberts of Shocking Vibes Limited, felt that tax collectors had based their assessment of his value on utterances Beenie made. Roberts told the Star that some of what Beenie said was "not true, but was said just to keep himself in the hype".
Since then, other artistes have become reticent. One artiste, who was recently interviewed by THE STAR, begged that no mention be made of the fact that he was currently performing on shows overseas. "Nuh bodda sey a show mi deh ova yah a do, mi nuh want everybody know dat, cause yuh done know, wid all a di tax ting dem wey a gwaan yah now," the artiste said.
Too caught up
Burru Banton deejayed on Killamanjaro. - file
However, veteran artiste Buru Banton says although things were different back in his heyday, some of the artistes today are too caught up in the hype and 'flossing' and as in Beenie's case, attract the wrong kind of attention.
"When we use to deejay dem time deh a hundred an two hundred dolla mi a mek, a afta Shabba time money did really start mek," Banton said.
But according to Banton, "everybody a guh ketch dem fraid yah now cause it look like sey dem man yah (tax collectors) nuh out fi gi wey nutt'n. But why a think dem ting yah reach dem, like Beenie, a to di hypeness. Cause which Government really know wah you guh out guh buy an dem ting deh?" "A you come a road come talk it," Buru said.
He continued, "all sometimes a wah yuh put inna yuh songs to him sey, 'mi a millionaire from mi a twenty', plus di heavy flossing wey a gwaan an people a look pon certain tings, like all di time Beenie turn ova him Humma an den come pon T.V come sey him buy back one, not even fi try lie an sey a di same one mi beat out?"
But other high profile entertianers like Elephant Man, believe that 'flossing' does not attract tax problems, so long as you pay up.
Party hard and floss
Elephant Man
Elephant Man says he intends to continue to party hard and 'floss' as usual, because he has reliable persons around him who attend to the business aspect of his career, ensuring that things like his taxes are taken care of.
"My flossing nuh really have nutt'n fi do wid di tax people, me pay my taxes. Yuh cyan tax people tru dem party an floss hard? Wi haffi enjoy wi self cause wi work hard, an a jus we fi mek sure sey wi have wi manager ar people wey wi trus fi tek care a dah side deh like paying taxes. Mi have my management wey tek care a dah side deh an mek sure sey every ting good, a Q45 deal wid my ting, cause mi have faith inna him fi tek care a dah part while we party," Elephant Man said.
He also added, "if yuh nuh have somebody fi deal wid dah part a di business wey yuh have faith inna, den you haffi jus mek sure deal wid it yuh self."
Beenie Man is said to owe the Government $29.29 million in back taxes and $18.64 million in penalties, bringing the outstanding amount to $47.93 million. When he last appeared before the court, the deejay said he was not aware that he had outstanding payments and said his management team was responsible for such business.
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