Ex-Iron Maiden singer, 52, jailed over £45,000 benefits swindle
I never thought the day would come when I would see that happen, but obviously I have.
We can argue the ins and the outs about this: the singer apparently was claiming benefits while 'working' (ie performing live in concert, and recording fresh material), and thus earning an income. His claim was that he hurt his back in 1998 (my sympathy is with him there, because I too suffer back pain). But he could still sing and (according to the authorities) therefore, work.
How D'ianno was 'caught out', via a YouTube video of himself performing live in 2006.
Yet, D'ianno lawyer argued that he had a lot of expenses, and actually lost alot of money over the years. He also argued that D'ianno was 'naive' when it came to business matters and had little (if any) formal education.
The consequence for his 'misdemeanours' was up to 12 months' imprisonment, and he owed £45,479 to the tax department.
On the forum for the Daily Mail, the following comments were posted:
This old fool can never compensate society for encouraging thousands into a lifetime of drug taking and benefit fraud. Unfortunately, he will never live long enough to personally pay for the damage he has done. - Paul, Rochester UK, 11/3/2011 16:59
The response to this statement:
What an utterly ridiculous statement. I've been an Iron Maiden fan for years and have never taken drugs or claimed benefits. I guess your one those crackpot religious zealots who thinks all heavy metal is 'devil music'. I feel sorry and slightly embarrassed for you.
- KSB, Canterbury, 11/3/2011 20:36
My repsonse: Here here!!!
However, I do agree with what this individual had to say:
Let us try and get some perspective here. Some Civil Servants can award each other 45K pay rises just before retirement so that they will get an extra 40K a year pension for years to come. We are chasing the wrong people!!!!!!!!!!!! This guy probably felt owed due to the taxes he had paid while in the band. Many years ago a friend of mine wrote a computer game, he got a total of 12k over 3 years yet the Government received over 100k VAT alone in that time. GOOD LUCK TO HIM he is no thief.
- Edwin, England, 11/3/2011 19:36
My response:
As many of us who pay our taxes, and hear of politicians, big business people and senior public servants getting whopping big pay rises, while the unemployed, pensioners and low income earners (myself included in the latter category) have to grovel in gratitude for the pitiful pay increases we do get!!! I personally think they should be getting no more than someone in a middle management or a professional job gets (and even the latter two categories work considerably harder than those at the top of the hierarchy).
Anyway, I hope Mr D'ianno will eventually pay off his debt to the taxpayers of England, and that he will be 'debt free' in a few years' time.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365334/Ex-Iron-Maiden-singer-Paul-DiAnno-52-jailed-45k-benefits-swindle.html#ixzz1GLYbGXca
We can argue the ins and the outs about this: the singer apparently was claiming benefits while 'working' (ie performing live in concert, and recording fresh material), and thus earning an income. His claim was that he hurt his back in 1998 (my sympathy is with him there, because I too suffer back pain). But he could still sing and (according to the authorities) therefore, work.
How D'ianno was 'caught out', via a YouTube video of himself performing live in 2006.
Yet, D'ianno lawyer argued that he had a lot of expenses, and actually lost alot of money over the years. He also argued that D'ianno was 'naive' when it came to business matters and had little (if any) formal education.
The consequence for his 'misdemeanours' was up to 12 months' imprisonment, and he owed £45,479 to the tax department.
On the forum for the Daily Mail, the following comments were posted:
This old fool can never compensate society for encouraging thousands into a lifetime of drug taking and benefit fraud. Unfortunately, he will never live long enough to personally pay for the damage he has done. - Paul, Rochester UK, 11/3/2011 16:59
The response to this statement:
What an utterly ridiculous statement. I've been an Iron Maiden fan for years and have never taken drugs or claimed benefits. I guess your one those crackpot religious zealots who thinks all heavy metal is 'devil music'. I feel sorry and slightly embarrassed for you.
- KSB, Canterbury, 11/3/2011 20:36
My repsonse: Here here!!!
However, I do agree with what this individual had to say:
Let us try and get some perspective here. Some Civil Servants can award each other 45K pay rises just before retirement so that they will get an extra 40K a year pension for years to come. We are chasing the wrong people!!!!!!!!!!!! This guy probably felt owed due to the taxes he had paid while in the band. Many years ago a friend of mine wrote a computer game, he got a total of 12k over 3 years yet the Government received over 100k VAT alone in that time. GOOD LUCK TO HIM he is no thief.
- Edwin, England, 11/3/2011 19:36
My response:
As many of us who pay our taxes, and hear of politicians, big business people and senior public servants getting whopping big pay rises, while the unemployed, pensioners and low income earners (myself included in the latter category) have to grovel in gratitude for the pitiful pay increases we do get!!! I personally think they should be getting no more than someone in a middle management or a professional job gets (and even the latter two categories work considerably harder than those at the top of the hierarchy).
Anyway, I hope Mr D'ianno will eventually pay off his debt to the taxpayers of England, and that he will be 'debt free' in a few years' time.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365334/Ex-Iron-Maiden-singer-Paul-DiAnno-52-jailed-45k-benefits-swindle.html#ixzz1GLYbGXca
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