Political figures from around the world — including the Queen of England, members of Donald Trump's cabinet, and Justin Trudeau's senior advisor and top fundraiser — have been implicated in the latest offshore tax scandal. But one politically minded musician has also turned up in the list of names unearthed in the Paradise Papers leak.
U2 frontman and global cause taker-upper Bono appeared in the papers for purchasing a portion of a Lithuanian shopping mall. He was an investor in Nude Estates, a company based in the infamously low-tax Malta, which purchased the Lithuania-based mall in 2007.
A spokeswoman for Bono explained that the singer was a "passive minority investor in Nude Estates Malta Ltd., a company that was legally registered in Malta until it was voluntarily wound up in 2015."
Bono has been publicly criticized for his tax practices in the past, especially in relation to his messages about fighting global poverty. In 2011, the band moved their operations out of their home country of Ireland and into the Netherlands, where music royalties incur significantly less taxation. That decision drew protests at the band's Glastonbury set, where activists flew a massive banner sporting the slogan: "U pay tax 2?"
The latest tax revelations arrive just ahead of U2's latest album. Songs of Experience is due out on December 1. You can order it in standard CD, vinyl, deluxe CD and super deluxe vinyl editions via MusicVaultz.
U2 frontman and global cause taker-upper Bono appeared in the papers for purchasing a portion of a Lithuanian shopping mall. He was an investor in Nude Estates, a company based in the infamously low-tax Malta, which purchased the Lithuania-based mall in 2007.
A spokeswoman for Bono explained that the singer was a "passive minority investor in Nude Estates Malta Ltd., a company that was legally registered in Malta until it was voluntarily wound up in 2015."
Bono has been publicly criticized for his tax practices in the past, especially in relation to his messages about fighting global poverty. In 2011, the band moved their operations out of their home country of Ireland and into the Netherlands, where music royalties incur significantly less taxation. That decision drew protests at the band's Glastonbury set, where activists flew a massive banner sporting the slogan: "U pay tax 2?"
The latest tax revelations arrive just ahead of U2's latest album. Songs of Experience is due out on December 1. You can order it in standard CD, vinyl, deluxe CD and super deluxe vinyl editions via MusicVaultz.
