Documents leaked as part of the Paradise Papers have revealed that one of the world’s biggest ticket touts used an offshore business in the Isle of Man to avoid paying UK tax on sales of tickets.
As The Guardian reports, Canadian tout Julien Lavallee set up his business, I Want Ticket Inc, in order to avoid paying tax on sales of tickets worth thousands of pounds. He obtained hundreds of tickets, for shows by the likes of Adele and Metallica, within minutes of them going on sale and then resold them to fans.
Using offshore firms in this way is currently legal, but investigators looking into the touting industry believe Lavallee may have used computer software to buy tickets in bulk illegally, triggering calls for a criminal investigation.
The Guardian also alleges, based on documents seen by the newspaper, that Lavallee had a close alliance with ticket company StubHub, an organisation which many blame for legitimising touting in the ticketing industry. It’s claimed that the company treated Lavallee as a ‘trusted seller’ despite being warned of potentially criminal activity.
Lavallee denies using computer software to illegally bulk buy tickets and says he has not broken any laws.
