The four current and former members of Sigur Rós appeared at the Reykjavík District Court today to hear and deny the charges of tax evasion and tax fraud that have been levelled against them.
RÚV reports that current members Georg Holm and Jón Þór Birgisson and former members Kjartan Sveinsson and Orri Páll Dýrason all arrived in court this morning to hear the charges against them and enter a plea. All four plead not guilty to the charges. The continuing trial has been postponed until May 20th.
As reported, all of them, with the exception of Kjartan, have been charged with major tax fraud for filing inaccurate returns from 2011 until and including 2014; Kjartan is charged with filing an inaccurate return in 2012 and 2014.
Jón Þór—better known as the singer Jónsi—is alleged to have escaped the payment of income tax of over 30 million ISK and a capital income tax of 13 million ISK. Georg Holm, the band’s bassist, is alleged to have escaped the payment of income tax of over 35 million ISK and a capital income tax of 9.5 million ISK.
Kjartan, who left the band six years ago, is said to have availed himself of over 18 million ISK in income tax, while Orri Páll, who quit the band last October, is said to have availed himself of over 36 million ISK in income tax and 9.5 million ISK in capital gains tax.
Furthermore, the band’s accountant is said to have not filed tax returns for Jónsi for the years 2014 and 2015, avoiding paying taxes on 22.6 million ISK in income tax and 10 million ISK in capital gains.
Financial scandal has dogged Sigur Rós for over a year now, culminating in tax evasion charges last year, which were later dropped.
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