Singapore Says Taylor Swift Gig Grant Not as High as Speculated 

Filipino fan of US singer Taylor Swift, Aliza Ponciano, wears friendship bracelets as she queues to enter the National Stadium on the first day of her concert in Singapore, 02 March 2024. (EPA)
Filipino fan of US singer Taylor Swift, Aliza Ponciano, wears friendship bracelets as she queues to enter the National Stadium on the first day of her concert in Singapore, 02 March 2024. (EPA)
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Singapore Says Taylor Swift Gig Grant Not as High as Speculated 

Filipino fan of US singer Taylor Swift, Aliza Ponciano, wears friendship bracelets as she queues to enter the National Stadium on the first day of her concert in Singapore, 02 March 2024. (EPA)
Filipino fan of US singer Taylor Swift, Aliza Ponciano, wears friendship bracelets as she queues to enter the National Stadium on the first day of her concert in Singapore, 02 March 2024. (EPA)

Singapore said Monday its grant to Taylor Swift for her concerts in the city was nowhere near as high as speculated, following media reports that the superstar was offered millions of dollars per gig.

Around 300,000 people from Singapore and around the region are expected to attend the six sold-out shows that began March 2 -- but some neighbors were not happy about being left off The Eras Tour.

Some, including reportedly the Thai prime minister, have said that Swift was paid millions to keep her from performing anywhere else in the region.

"There has been some online speculation as to the size of the grant. I can say that it is not accurate and not anywhere as high as speculated," Singapore's culture minister Edwin Tong told parliament.

"Due to business confidentiality reasons, we cannot reveal the specific size of the grant or the conditions of the grant."

Tong added that the "economic benefits to Singapore are assessed to be significant and outweigh the size of the grant".

Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had reportedly said, citing a concert promoter, that Singapore offered Swift up to US$3 million per concert if she did not play anywhere else in Southeast Asia.

A lawmaker in the Philippines also criticized Singapore, reportedly saying this was not "what good neighbors do".

Tong played down the role the grant may have played in convincing Swift to perform only in Singapore.

"Promoters of top artists will do their own calculation and assess where they want to perform and for how long," he said, citing Singapore's location and infrastructure as key factors.

Since the end of pandemic curbs, a number of top artists have performed in Singapore, including Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Blackpink and Harry Styles.



Magic Can’t Save ‘Harry Potter’ Star Rupert Grint from a $2.3 Million Tax Bill

Rupert Grint poses for photographers upon arrival at the special screening of the film "Knock at the Cabin" in London, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP)
Rupert Grint poses for photographers upon arrival at the special screening of the film "Knock at the Cabin" in London, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP)
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Magic Can’t Save ‘Harry Potter’ Star Rupert Grint from a $2.3 Million Tax Bill

Rupert Grint poses for photographers upon arrival at the special screening of the film "Knock at the Cabin" in London, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP)
Rupert Grint poses for photographers upon arrival at the special screening of the film "Knock at the Cabin" in London, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023. (AP)

Former “Harry Potter” film actor Rupert Grint faces a 1.8 million-pound ($2.3 million) bill after he lost a legal battle with the tax authorities.

Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the magical film franchise, was ordered to pay the money in 2019 after H.M. Revenue and Customs, the UK tax agency, investigated his tax return from seven years earlier.

The agency said Grint had wrongly classed 4.5 million pounds in residuals from the movies — money from DVD sales, TV syndication, streaming rights and other sources — as a capital asset rather than income, which is subject to a much higher tax rate.

Lawyers for Grint appealed, but after years of wrangling a tribunal judge ruled against the actor this week. Judge Harriet Morgan said the money “derived substantially the whole of its value from the activities of Mr. Grint” and “is taxable as income.”

Grint, 36, starred in all eight Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011 as the boy wizard’s best friend, and is calculated to have earned around 24 million pounds from the role.

He previously lost a separate court battle over a 1 million pound tax refund in 2019.