Taxes? We don't pay no stinkin' taxes......
Paul O'Toole would like everyone to know that he wasn't exactly doing a tribute to Bono yesterday. He wasn't celebrating the release of the new album by singing his modified version of Where The Streets Have No Name outside of the Department of Finance offices.
As a protester with Debt and Development Coalition Ireland, he'd like everyone to know that Bono is a flaming hypocrite.
The man who travels the globe and tells world leaders that their countries should give more taxpayer money to the poor is doing a very good job at dodging the taxes on U2 royalties.
For a time, Irish artists could earn without paying because Irish artists didn't earn much. Then U2 hit it big, and the government put a cap on the tax-free income.
What did Bono et al. do? They sent U2 Inc. to Holland, where the tax rate is lower, and Ireland can stand on the shore and watch all that money sail away. Buy U2's new album and the Netherlands gets a cut of the profit. All Ireland can claim is their portion of the individual band members's salaries. Not quite an equal split.
Asked to comment, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan stated that Ireland will be making a complaint to the EU about small, below-sea-level countries setting up tax havens that cause financial harm to other EU nations.
We'll all want to check The Irish Times tomorrow, to find out what sort of excuse Bono and the lads have concocted to rationalize their tax dodge. Will Bono explain how he dares to goad foreign leaders into giving more when he's giving as little as possible?
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