'Saint Bono' the anti-poverty campaigner facing huge Glastonbury protest – for avoiding tax


He is the rock legend dubbed 'Saint Bono' for his long-running campaign against global poverty.

But when Bono's band U2 perform at Glastonbury later this month, protesters are planning to accuse them of avoiding taxes which could have helped exactly the sort of people the singer cares about so dearly.

Members of activist group Art Uncut will hoist a massive inflatable sign with the message 'Bono Pay Up' spelt out in lights during the Irish band's headline performance.

They will also parade bundles of oversized fake cash in front of the singer.

The protest has been provoked by U2's decision to move their multi-million-pound music and publishing business away from Ireland – thus allegedly avoiding taxes on record sales.

A spokesman for Art Uncut, an off-shoot of controversial group UK Uncut, said the protest would not be violent or disrupt U2's set – but would be 'highly visible'.

He said: 'Bono claims to care about the developing world, but U2 greedily indulges in the very kind of tax avoidance that is crippling poor nations.

'We will be showing the very real impact of U2's tax avoidance on hospitals and schools in Ireland. Anyone watching will be made very aware that Bono needs to pay up..
Art Uncut's plans follow a wave of protests against wealthy Britons who are believed to be using tax-avoidance strategies as Britain struggles to pay off its huge budget deficit.
He tells Britain's Daily Mail, "'I'm all for protests. I've been protesting all of my life. I'm glad they got the chance to have their say. But, as it happens, what they're protesting about is wrong."
However the protesters insisted that the Glastonbury protest "is not just about having a dig at Bono", arguing that their action was "crucial to get people thinking about the ethics of taxation, and the relationship between tax and development".

More people are beginning to see the hypocrites who preach one thing and do another. They call it being 'tax-efficient' avoiding paying taxes to help those who they are so concerned about.