But I still haven't found the Tax-shelter I was looking for.....
Posted on 09/29/2006 2:31:40 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul
September 08, 2006
What would Bono do? Probably dodge taxes
By RICK de YAMPERT
VOX POP Dante, in his 14th-century epic "The Inferno," consigned hypocrites to the eighth circle of hell.
I'm wondering if I should pack Bono's suitcase and book him a trip to Dante's eighth circle. Bono, the U2 singer who has railed against governments for not contributing more funds to Third World nations, is a tax dodger.
Last month, the media in U2's native Ireland and across Europe were buzzing with the news that U2 had transferred its music publishing business to the Netherlands. The move came after the Irish government ended tax exemptions for artists in Ireland -- including an exemption for songwriting royalties (tours and performances were never covered by the exemption).
According to the Irish Voice, the move will save the rock band 15 million euros (about $19.2 million) this year in taxes -- taxes that would have gone into the coffers of the Irish government, the government Bono chided during a U2 concert in Dublin last year for reneging on a commitment to give 0.7 percent of Ireland's annual GDP to Africa.
If U2 were mere hedonistic rock stars, few would question the tax dodge. It's a perfectly legal move, one that you and I and almost everyone would make to pocket more lucre.
But U2, especially frontman Bono, always have been about fighting social injustice and embracing moral causes, whether in their music or during their lives away from the rock biz.
Bono is the driving force behind the organization One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. Bono's work to reduce poverty and AIDS in Africa has landed him audiences with world leaders, including President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pope John Paul II.
Last year, Time magazine named Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates its Persons of the Year.
U2's moral-spiritual stance has been chronicled in such books as "Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog" and "One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God." Churches have offered services with themes drawn from U2's music.
Now we U2 fans who admire their music and their passionate, if quixotic, moral stances -- we who would ask ourselves WWBD: What would Bono do? -- have cause to pause.
I've encountered many people who label Bono a poseur and resent being "preached at" by a mere rock star.
But I've always believed Bono is sincere. I'd point out Bono confronts, in lyrics and in interviews, the contradictions and absurdities of a rock star out to save the world.
"I don't believe in riches, but you should see where I live," Bono sang in "God Part II."
Well, it looks as if he does believe in riches.
Bruce Springsteen once said he was glad he never met his idol, Elvis. A meeting inevitably would have exposed human foibles and led to disappointment, Springsteen said, adding he expects artists to live up to their ideals in their art, not in their personal lives.
The answer to that question -- What would Bono do? -- is: What any person would do.
I'm disappointed Bono talks the talk but doesn't always walk the walk in the real world. But, akin to the Boss, I still expect Bono to live up to his ideals in his music.
Rick de Yampert is The Daytona Beach News-Journal's entertainment writer. He can be reached at rick.deyampert@news-jrnl.com
Ok, lets all play your game..I'm against war and I say an alternative is peace . However I've never been in the service.
Does that make me a hypocrite?
"The New York Post's Page Six reports that Bono , supposed savior of the world's disenfranchised, has, through his private equity firm, invested in a video game which depicts Venezuela as a "banana republic led by a 'power-hungry tyrant.'"
"...it is disgusting to make a game out of the Bush Administration's effort to undermine Hugo Chavez, a democratically elected leader, and one of the few living politicians today who are actually working to improve the lot of the world's poor..."
Did you read the article? He's chastising Bono for not practicing what he preaches--do you fall in line with Bono's political views yet still take every chance to avoid paying taxes when possible? If so, I daresay you are a hypocrite.
Leona Helmsley
For example: Am I for the WoT? Yes. Do I serve? No. Does that make me a hypocrite? No, it makes me a supporter of the WoT.
The same goes for Bono: Does he work to eradicate poverty? Yes. Is he poor? No. Does that mean that he's a hypocrite? No, it means that he works to eradicate poverty.
If I didn't have to pay taxes, I wouldn't either. Go Bono.
My husband has an oil portrait of U2 that I refuse to let him hang up on any of my walls. Not that I have anything against U2, just cheesy oil portraits.
It would if you were publically castigating others for not adopting and pushing to have others adopt by government decree.
Yeah, just do the easy part, that doesn't cost them anything.
It would be a toss up with me between U2 and "dogs playing poker".
"U2 Can Avoid Paying Taxes."
Yeah, I read the article. He attempts (and fails) to make the case that Bono is a hypocrite because he supports wealthy nations helping poor nations. But, that isn't the point.
The author seems peturbed that Bono would have the audacity to become (yet another) tax exile, legally protecting his income from the confiscatory tax code of hos homeland. It is a huge stretch to label that as hypocritical. It just makes good sense.
I suppose on that planet, anyone who supports any government spending for anything, yet fails to hemmorage his income to the tax man with orgasmic glee is a hypocrite. To wit: I supported the F-22 fighter project. I thought it vital to our nation's long term defense. How many billions of tax dollars has that cost, and how many more billions will it cost? Quite a few. Yet, I go out of my way every year to owe the tax man as little as possible. Therefore, I am a hypocrite. Uh huh.
A little dense too. To repeat, don't call others cheap if you yourself minimize taxes. That's the point of the story.
Yes, for you, yes....
One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History
Obviously he thinks that private control of his own funds will help the poor more than giving control to the government. Fine, but why isn't private control of other folks funds better than government control? Apparently, beacause the people and the corporations they own are stupid and/or immoral, and should submit to the dictatorship of the bourgoisie in order to end poverty.
That attitude is hypocritical.
Hey, all she really had to do was leave all the outside doors open at all her houses where she keeps the thermostat at 60 degrees...
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