Is U2 frontman Bono a hypocrite?
The rocker says no.
In a lengthy interview with Tim Adams of The Observer, Bono addressed criticisms of the band’s decision to shield millions of dollars from taxation by parking it in the Netherlands rather than keeping it in Ireland.
He defended the band’s position as part and parcel of the Irish way of life, saying:
It is not an intellectually rigorous position unless you understand that at the heart of the Irish economy has always been the philosophy of tax competitiveness. Tax competitiveness has taken our country out of poverty. People in the revenue accept that if you engage in that policy then some people are going to go out, and some people are coming in. It has been a successful policy. On the cranky left that is very annoying, I can see that. But tax competitiveness is why Ireland has stayed afloat. When the Germans tried to impose a different tax regime on the country in exchange for a bailout, the taoiseach said they would rather not have the bailout. So U2 is in total harmony with our government’s philosophy.
As to those folks that have found fault with his stance? Bono believes that it comes down to likeability:
I think for many reasons people have taken a dislike to our band and to me… I think some of the people who criticise us in Ireland and America have a history that you can trace back to our opposition to Noraid. A lot of the others probably hate our music. And a lot of other people probably have a point.
I guess that makes me one of those people who have a point.
You see, I happen to be a big fan of U2. Pride (In The Name Of Love) was the first song that I ever danced to with my husband (in a bar in Prague, no less). I Will Follow was one of the big songs at my wedding. And Beautiful Day was my pregnancy song when my oldest daughter was born. I think they’re an amazing band and they have incredible talent. But I don’t think Bono is being completely honest.
This isn’t what Ireland wants. Ireland is in an economic crisis. Financial worries over continued unemployment and significant debt plague the country: spending hits and higher taxes are planned in order to right the ship. The country has been bailed out by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union after it suffered a number of losses in the banking and property sectors, leading to recession. That doesn’t exactly sound like a country managing to stay afloat on the merits of its own tax competitiveness.
I agree that U2 does not have an obligation to pay tax in Ireland when they can legitimately move funds offshore and save tax dollars. There’s nothing that says you have to pay more tax than you have to: it’s okay to be tax efficient. If there are appropriate ways to lower your tax obligations, then that’s what you do. We all do: you claim the deductions and credits you’re entitled to on your tax return, right?
But you call a spade a spade. You don’t try to twist your tax planning into some kind of patriotic or noble move. Your mortgage deduction isn’t an homage to the Constitution: it’s simply a way to lower your tax bill. Don’t make it more than it is.
Bono may tout the band’s position as supporting the country’s “tax competitiveness” but it’s not. Their big tax move was primarily in response to a non-competitive cap on tax-free income, introduced in the country in 2006.
Before that time, U2 had received a tremendous benefit from an exemption that was available to artists for the sale of certain works. At the time, despite the fact that Bono believes the band was in “total harmony” with his country, he received an enormous amount of criticism.
Years later, the criticism hasn’t diminished. Former Irish Junior Health Minister Roisin Shorthall voiced her opinion of the move this year, saying:
I think there is that issue about loyalty to the country you are born in and I think it would show a tremendous example to everybody if they were to bring back their tax affairs to Ireland. In any modern democracy people pay their fair share of tax.
Ouch. And there’s more.
Dublin North-East TD Tommy Broughan said, about the band, that while he thought the band was amazing and admired their dedication to wiping out poverty in Africa, “their first duty is to their own people.” That duty, he indicated, was to pay taxes in Ireland.
So maybe it’s not so much that Ireland wants this as U2 wants this.
The band has been wildly successful, selling more than 150 million records. Bono and the band rank fourth on Forbes’ list of the Highest-Paid Musicians of 2012, grossing $78 million in 2012 alone.
