Tiësto awarded €14.5 million for "incorrect" US tax advice

Tiësto has been awarded €14.5 million after an Amsterdam appeals court ruled that a law firm had given him "incorrect" tax advice. 

As reported by NL Times, the court ruled on Tuesday (May 12) that the legendary Dutch DJ had been issued "false" advice in 2012 by his then-accountants Greenberg Traurig which had resulted in him exceeding the amount of days in the US without being liable to pay taxes in the country.

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Due to having incorrectly filed his US tax return for several years, which the court argues was on the advice of Greenberg Traurig, Tiësto reportedly racked up a bill of $17 million in back-taxes and penalties, which he pledged to pay back after discovering them in 2018. 

The court overruled a previous decision that, while Tiësto had been offered false advice, he had "suffered no loss"; lawyers acting on behalf of the trance pioneer argued that, had he been provided with the correct information, he would have ensured had remained in the US for fewer days to avoid incurring tax.

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Greenberg Traurig has now been ordered to pay $17 million, or €14.5 million, to Tiësto in damages as well as €35,000 in legal costs. The firm will be able to appeal the decision with the Netherlands' high court.

This isn't the first time Tiësto has been at the centre of legal battles around his US taxes, in 2024 his former attorney Frank Butselaar was found to have illegally concealed $28 million in tax from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in offshore accounts on behalf of the musician. 

The IRS did not bring charges against Tiësto on the basis that he was unaware of his lawyers activities. Butselaar was sentenced to 30 months in jail for tax fraud, having been found to have hidden over $100 million on behalf of his clients. 

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on X