Originally posted by bazzzz:you know about the european offices of Facebook in Dublin , Apple and Google Adwords in Cork? Do you imagine answers? Do you know something about these things? Who was the person they made such financial deals with?
Originally posted by KaiserJose:[..]
It’s not really.
The revelations are wide-scale and the general implication is that a significant sum of the 1% are going to far ends to avoid paying their fair share.
I can’t comment on it in every nation, but to my knowledge self-employed people get relatively free grants or support from the British and Irish governments, which is the trade-off with the taxation you’ve mentioned.
Secondly; Bono isn’t just an easy target. When all assets are counted he’s a billionaire who has spent the last 40 years publically advocating justice and fairness, an end to poverty, and increased government aid towards projects like drugs for AIDS. Meanwhile we find him developing his assets in Lithuania through a Maltese holding company to avoid paying more tax in Lithuania (with the greatest of respect, not exactly the wealthiest region in Europe).
Fan of the band or not, do you not see the problem with that?
Originally posted by robotsandmonkeys:I've found U2's tax avoidance really problematic, and now this news about Bono using tax havens really pisses me off.
They go around the world proclaiming love for Ireland, though prefer to keep their money away from going toward the people and society they say they so deeply love. They want to bend our ear about the poor and needy they decide to highlight, but when it comes to paying taxes on their income they hide it underground and out of sight.
For a band that asks for debt forgiveness, charity, selflessness...you really, really have to stop and wonder how much they practice what they preach when they are caught using tax havens. It's disgusting.
Originally posted by dylbagz:I've long thought that all of bono's charitable work is just a front for massive tax deductions anyway, pretty convenient if you ask me