Echo & The Bunnymen Cancel U.S. Tour

ATLANTA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Beginning Sunday November 15th Manchester (UK) rock band, Echo & The Bunnymen, were set to kick off their U.S. tour at The Masquerade in Atlanta. Alas, such is not to be and the band has been forced to cancel all of their dates, citing The band has canceled this and all following dates citing 'unreasonable demands by the IRS.'

In a post on the band's website, they wrote: "This is due to unreasonable demands been presented by the IRS for the band to enter the USA to tour. This is not a visa issue as some websites have stated. Echo & The Bunnymen will be touring the USA from East to West Coast in April 2010. Please contact venues for refunds."

Numerous music news sites had subsequently reported that the tour had been canceled due to an IRS requirement that any band that performs more than one show within a 30-day period would be required to pay a fee, however, this is not the case.

Cecile Glunt, a representative for the IRS took a few moments to clarify relevant regulations for CelebrityAccess.

"Withholding on the US personal service income of non-resident alien artists is covered by Treasury Regulation 1441. It stipulates that unless a foreign non-US resident artist has entered into a Central Withholding Agreement (CWA) 30% of their gross receipts are withheld and deposited into the treasury. If, on the other hand, an artist enters into a CWA with us, we work with their appointed representative to determine what their net income for the tour is and withholding is then done at the same graduated rates as a U.S. citizen." Glunt said.

"In every case, the artist is required to file a US income tax return (Form 1040NR) at the end of the year to report any US sourced income earned within the US. Without the CWA, most artists would be over withheld at 30% of gross. They would have to wait until they file their return to get a refund. With a CWA, the tax withheld should closely approximate the actual tax liability, allowing the artist to have greater cash flow during the US tour." Glunt continued.

"There is nothing in the code or regulation relating to more than one event within a 30 day period. In order to enter into a CWA with the IRS, all an artist needs to do is contact us in a timely manner (we request 45 days prior to the start of the tour or event) and if the artist is compliant with past tax requirements, we'll work with their representatives." she added. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers