U2 is out promoting their new album, Whatever the New U2 Album Is Called. And it sounds like some of their fellow countrymen are sick of Bono running around telling world governments how to handle their business, when he won’t even pay his fair share of taxes to his own:
Following a demonstration outside the offices of the Department of Finance in Dublin on Wednesday, campaigners continued their crusade on Friday in London.
During an “impromptu” gig by the band on the roof of the BBC headquarters, a small group of demonstrators staged a seemingly spontaneous protest berating the band for exploiting a tax shelter in the Netherlands.
Agitators held makeshift placards bearing inscriptions such as: “Bono: pay your taxes” and “Bono: don’t be a banker”. Another held a home-made sign with the caption: “We’ll downl’d it 4 free and give the money to charity”…
It is not yet clear if the protest in London forms part of a co-ordinated strategy by tax reform campaigners or if it was spontaneous. A number of prominent international organisations including Christian Aid and the Tax Justice Network (TJN) have previously criticised the band’s tax affairs since U2 moved one of its companies to the Netherlands in 2006 after the Irish government introduced a €250,000 cap on the tax exemption scheme for artists…
TJN estimates that funds held globally in tax havens could generate $255 billion (€200 billion) in additional tax revenues, enough to finance the Millennium Development Goals, a project that aims to halve extreme poverty, halt the spread of HIV/Aids and provide universal primary education by 2015, which has been endorsed by Bono.
U2 want to change the world. They just don’t want to pay for it.
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Obama did seem to promise a very global administration…
Maybe he’s just keeping the money in the Netherlands to help their poor. Heaven knows how hard it must have been on their bank accounts working on the “red” campaign. Remember that? Instead of encouraging people to donate money to help poverty Bono encouraged us all to buy non essential crap from the gap and new cell phones and ipods s they would donate money for us. ‘Cause buying new crap you don’t need from non fair trade companies is a grreeaaat way to keep the poor working in crappy conditions and awesome for the environment. Bono…..STFU
Why does he blather on about wanting to find a cure for AIDS when he obviously doesn’t care? Is U2’s music so bad he has to fake caring about a disease to get nice suckers to pay attention to him and buy his CDs?
Bono is a self righteous, pompous ass. Nothing new here. I applaud the protestors.
Sara, please be my new BFF. That was awesome. To me, this little tax flap just underscores what I posted on another thread–that celebrities want to FEEL good, they want to LOOK good, but by and large, they want US to pay for it. I’m disgusted w/U2, but hardly surprised.
Sanctimonious git – another ‘tard that just does not get it. It is one thing to manage your own wealth privately and without lecturing. All together different when one travels the world and tells others to be generous and altruistic with their money. His Red campaign certainly did not live up to the hype. Donors would due far more with their money sending it directly to the Global Aids Fund rather than buy a red t-shirt.
Another do as I say not as I do Liberal.
But of course that is the the vogue right now, after all America elected a whole government of people like this.
It’s funny, Rolling Stone never seems to mention this when they spend at least one or two pages every issue kissing Bono’s a**. They can’t decide who is the real Messaiah – Obama or Bono. Maybe they can fight to the death over it….
Hmm.
The last time an overly famous foursome played an impromptu rooftop concert, they all left in a huff and started mediocre solo careers.
Is this the end of another long and winding road?
Too funny! I must be oblivious to it all, but I don’t remember the red campaign. And u2 shoulda quit after achtung baby.
Anybody going to be in Providence, RI for John Edwards “Beautiful America” speech at Brown University 10 March?
I’d love to get some Deceiver 1st-hand reports.
Hosted by the Brown University Lecture Board at 8 p.m. in the DeCiccio Auditorium of the Salomon Center for Teaching.
There is a reason why he is the biggest turd in the world.
I can’t understand the disconnect in the minds of these celebrities. How do they justify the difference between their actions and what they preach at the rest of us? I’ll repeat what sara said and wish that they would all stfu and go home and just live their lives and leave the rest of us alone to do the same.
I especially hate those celebrities who are not US Citizen, yet love to tell us how we should live our lives. Without us, they would not be rich or celebrities.
Every time I see a pic of Bono, he has his mouth open. Makes me want to put a smelly, sweaty sock in it.
I was kinda young when the U2 movie Rattle & Hum came out and it was the first time I ever had an inexplicable feeling in my gut about someone. I liked their music and the mullet was acceptable at the time but watching that film something in me knew Bono is the devil incarnate. If you remove the parts from the sum you will see a path of soullessness. Red campaign never made a dime and he was knighted for it or whatever the British do to give commoners a higher social status. He also wants to build a mega high-rise in Dublin .. now there is a man who cares and has his beat on the pulse of the people. He wants more than just a penthouse okay. And this week Bono called Chris Martin of Coldplay a “cretin” .. so not only is he evil with power he is insanely jealous of his competition which is an example of listening to your lowest moralities.
If Bono actually gave a damn he would pay some of those country’s debt himself.
angry army wife, that is a pet peeve of mine too.
What makes this all worse for me is that I like a lot of U2’s music. I just can’t stand Bono and his “save the world” hypocrisy.
D—-: I’m pretty sure he doesn’t, or he would. You’re right. But that goes for about 99% of all celebrities. Their clamoring for the rest of us to pay for everything is supposed to count as altruism and virtue, just because they took time out from staring into a mirror.
Is Bono waiting for Obama to appoint him to a cabinet position? Apparently, Obama supporters don’t like paying their taxes!
I like people’s music and then they go ahead and open their mouth telling me how I should live. Bruce Springsteen anyone? Tim McGraw? I then choose to not buy their music anymore. I remember when a musician just made music.
*raises hand* I paid mine, Rocco!
AAW, that’s how I feel about it too. It’s sort of nauseating to realize that the popular thinking goes, “Hey–that guy can really strum a guitar. I bet he knows a lot about foreign policy.” “She’s very good on that show about aliens. She’s probably just the expert we need on free-trade agreements.” Can’t remember whether it was P.J. O’Rourke who pointed out that stupidity first, or if it was someone else, but it’s stupid anyway.
And if you point out the silliness of giving celebrities a platform to spout their way-outside-their-area-of-expertise stupidity, you’re accused of saying that they “shouldn’t have a voice”. That’s not it at all, actually. They get as much of a voice as the rest of us. What they SHOULDN’T get is taken more seriously.
I don’t blame a guy for going around oppressive tax policies. Just don’t expect the plebes to pay up in your place.
Now, give me a celebrity that stays quiet, even when they are doing something good and I will support them. Gary Sinese and the wounded troops – yeah! Bruce Willis, yeah! Kevin Bacon – yeah! Toby Keith – yeah! You know why? Cause they do it not for the praise but because they care.
U2 enjoyed what? About two decades of tax free status in Ireland despite being massively succesful and having a phenomenal income. Because as a nation we had decided to encourage artists by giving them a tax free status. Fair enough. As mentioned above this was changed in 2006 because anyone earning over 250000 euro per annum really should be contributing to the upkeep of the country they reside in. And now he’s sending his money away at a time when Ireland is in pretty dire straights. The man is officially a sactimonious, hypocritical ass hole. He’s universally reviled in Ireland for this kind of crap but tells himself and the world that it’s just typical Irish begrudgery. Well who’s begrudging now you asshat?
I love Gary Sinise. What did Kevin Bacon do? I mean, besides “The Woodsman”, EWW?
Beige – You mean looking hotter than Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men” wasn’t enough?
watch “Taking Chance” on HBO. It speaks volumns. Just have the enormous box of Kleenex next to you.
Beige – watch “Taking Chance” on HBO. It speaks volumns. And besides, everyone knows that he was hotter than Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men”
Very interesting, Gobo! :-O
AAW and Beige, Tom Cruise is a Drunk Little Gnome (the “drunk” part is a rumor that I’m starting), follows a false god, and has a big nose.
I’m just saying this stuff not to piss both of you off, but to stir up some natural fertilizer. I’m bored at work today.
Besides, when U2 first started out, they were great! Then they got all political and screwed up the end game.
Oh, you aren’t upsetting me. Kevin Bacon WAS way hotter than Tom Cruise in “A few Good Men” and still is. Not to mention “Footloose.” Tom Cruise is a has been.
Tom Cruise scares me. If a shark got a makeover (a really short, closeted-gay shark, that is) it would look very much like Tom Cruise.
According to “She who Must be Obeyed”, the pinnacle of TC Hotness was the Volleyball scene in Top Gun. Kevin Bacon, I’m not sure about. He seems to do really hokey movies, like Footloose. I’ll leave the determining hotness factor to you kind ladies. TC is STILL a Drunk Little Gnome.
A closeted-gay shark! That’s funny, but you insult sharks all over the world! Beware if you go to the beach, for they will get you for your blasphemy. Besides, he’s not gay, he’s just confused and hasn’t shelled out enough money to his “church” to be shown the one true path to non-gaydom.
Beige-consider it done. We are officially BFF’s
I am just sick of these “charities” taking over colors as their own. I now don’t feel I can own anything pink because of the breast cancer “contributions” the companies make on their pink items. Now it’s red items, red dress campaign, etc. I would rather just donate my money directly to the charity rather than continue to have them promote stupid items in order to give the charities pennies on the dollar. Give me my colors back!
Celebrities do have a right to express their opinions and they have the platform to do it. The problem is, most of the ones that get all the press are doing it mostly for their ego (Angelina, Bono, etc.) If they actually know something about the topics they discuss, I am all for it as they just add another voice to the mix. Unfortunately, most don’t know their a** from a hole in the ground and just spout the tag lines but don’t understand the true situation. There are many celebrities that were mentioned that don’t do it for the glory and many who know what they are talking about. These reasonable, informed voiced are often very quiet about it or are drowned out by the publicity obsessed.
When I was talking with my Mom about the new Secretary of the Treasury, she reminded me that Leona Helmsley said something to the effect of taxes are for the little people.
I’m with Strawberry Girl though. I don’t blame people for evading taxes and I’m not sure what U2 did that was wrong here. If I was an Irish artist making more than the limit, I’d have done the same thing. It’s normal and rational to not want to pay taxes.
It’s also normal to expect everybody else to pay for programs you want to see enacted. Don’t make it right.
i didn’t like U2 even when they were relevant
I’m not saying U2’s right. But there seems to be this notion floating around that you can tax the rich more, this is a prime example of why that notion is flawed. And they can protest all they want. I can’t go around supporting people who protest someone moving their business from a place where they get taxed to a place where they don’t get taxed.
And there’s this assumption that the taxes U2 would have paid would have gone towards these Millennium Development Goals. I’d guess the funds would actually just disappear down the black hole of government expenditure.
I agree that these people are allowed to have opinions like the rest of us. What bothers me about it is that when they go overboard in expressing them, they tend to alienate a portion of their fans who either don’t agree or don’t care. Were I in that place, I would keep my political/religious/otherwise controversial opinons on the down low because I wouldn’t want people to associate me with that and not my actual job, which depends on those fans to be successful.
There are only a few people I can say have irritated me enough to where I don’t buy their music or watch their movies anymore. Tom Cruise is one of them. I can’t get past the person anymore to enjoy the character. Susan Sarandon is another. U2 is borderline for me because I can’t help but like a lot of their music. I grew up on it.
I just kind of want to talk about Kevin Bacon. De-ang! If you don’t think he has the perfect male torso, well, you just weren’t paying attention during “Stir of Echoes.”
Oh, and about Bono always having the sunglasses and his mouth open–maybe Bono died in the early 90s sometime, and what we’re seeing is a poorly-done cybernetic form of him. That could explain a few things. But it would also give him a decided advatage over Obama if the two did decide to death-duel for the role of Messiah.
EWWWWW. Weekend at Bono’s.
Beige – Doesn’t that sound like a porno?
Oh, GREAT. Now I’ve got THOSE pictures in my head. Thanks a lot. ;p
I’ve always felt U2 was grossly overrated. Bono is a douchebag.