The band Queen was on the list of the UK's biggest taxpayers

Rock band Queen was among the 100 largest taxpayers in Britain at the end of the last fiscal year. This was reported by The Times on Friday, January 24.

According to the rating of the edition, last year the company Queen Productions, owned by Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, as well as the musicians themselves paid taxes amounting to about $14.7 million. At the same time, the group is located only on the 92nd line of the list.

The largest taxpayer in the UK was investor Chris Hohn. He transferred to the British budget no less than $423.8 million. On the second and third places were the founders of bookmakers.

The author of "Harry Potter" Joanne Rowling paid $58.7 million in taxes last year, taking 27th place in the list, and musician Ed Sheeran was on the 60th line with $24.8 million.

Earlier, on May 30, 2024, Bloomberg reported about Queen's plans to sell the rights to songs for $1 billion. In the case of the sale of the band's musical catalog, which includes such hits as Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You, the amount of the deal will be a record.

In September 2023, a draft with the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody sold for £1.4 million at an auction in London. It consists of 15 sheets of the first version of the composition, which was originally titled "Mongolian Rhapsody". Also sold were drafts of songs by Killer Queen, Somebody To Love and We Are The Champions.