Tax Protesters To Target U2
Demonstration due to take place at Glastonbury later this month
The Guardian reports that protest group Art Uncut will take part in a very visible demonstration when Bono & Co take to the stage for their Friday night headline slot at Glastonbury in a few weeks. Their aim is to highlight U2's alleged "tax evasion".
"Bono claims to care about the developing world, but U2 greedily indulges in the very kind of tax avoidance which is crippling the poor nations of this world," said a spokesman for Art Uncut, a group with strong links to UK Uncut.
"We will be showing the very real impact of U2's tax avoidance on hospitals and schools in Ireland. Anyone watching will be very much aware that Bono needs to pay up."
The band sparked a wave of criticism in 2006 by shifting parts of its business affairs from Ireland to the Netherlands in response to a cap on generous tax breaks for artists in the republic.
Sources close to the band said Bono and others live in Ireland, are employers there, and are involved in philanthropic activities.
A spokesperson for One, the anti-poverty campaign group co-founded by Bono, said: "U2's business arrangements have nothing to do with illegal tax evasion and transfer mispricing in developing countries, critical issues which Bono and One campaign on.
"One is currently lobbying for radical changes in the law that would require extractive industry corporations to report payments to governments, to ensure these substantial resources contribute to the domestic tax base instead of being stashed or siphoned off."