Forbes may not think Bono is a healer of the world, but Steve gives him high marks for 30 years of evading personal income taxes. He loves to spend billions of taxpayer money around the world, but in real life, he has deep pockets......and short arms.
The Rolling Stones had a Prince Rupert Lowenstein running their finances who made them rich. He arranged for most of the Rolling Stones corporations to be domiciled in Holland which has some slick tax laws. This trick leaked out to Bono/U2 and they did the same thing. Ireland has very low taxes for artists but this was not low enough for Bono/U2.
Thus Bono/U2 pay a pittance to Ireland and some low tax in the Netherlands where their corporations are domiciled.
Been a long time but The Stones did business under a few corporations. Such as one for their tours. One for the recordings they issue. Etc etc. U2 prolly does the same.
There was a protest at Glastonbury when U2 played a few years back. Protesting their tax dodging ways
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/25/u2-bono-tax-protest-glastonbury
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2007956/U2-upstaged-tax-protest-Glastonbury—campaigners-left-deflated-security-pop-balloon.html
U2 rattled on through their set of smash hits, with the only inconvenience for Bono being the rain fogging up his trademark sunglasses.
Art Uncut had been hoping to spark debate around big-earning stars’ duty to pay taxes in their native country.
Campaigner Charlie Dewar said: ‘U2’s multi million-euro tax dodge is depriving the Irish people at a time when they desperately need income to offset the Irish government’s savage austerity programme.
‘Tax nestling in the band’s bank account should be helping to keep open the hospitals, schools and libraries that are closing all over Ireland.
‘Bono is well-known for his anti-poverty campaigning but Art Uncut is accusing him of hypocrisy.’
I’m of two opinions on the subject of tax dodging. For tax-cutting Conservatives, dodging taxes should be the equivalent of jaywalking. For left-wingers who adore epic-level taxes, dodging taxes should result in full confiscation of their estates and a long prison sentence, if not the death penalty.