U2`s Bono`s Hypocracy(DaytonaNews)

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. :lol:

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.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/Ne...lVOX090806.htm