Evading Taxes
Liberals Who Hate Paying High Taxes
By Daniel Muniz

Much of left wing politics asserts that the government ought to be responsible for creating wealth instead of it being made from free enterprise. Many liberals feel that only a socialist economy will have the public’s best interest in mind for the common good instead of private sector companies whose shareholders only seek profit and personal gain. In fact, they envision eradicating world poverty by advocating that economically successful countries redistribute their wealth, especially from high taxes, to impoverished nations.

Quite a few rock stars, Hollywood entertainers, and other celebrities subscribe to this point of view. They are involved in numerous charities and they use their celebrity status to publicize the need to change the public policy of a number of countries, including the United States. In addition, the media gives plenty of favorable press coverage to these activists particularly when they deride the disparities between rich and poor countries.

Perhaps the most prolific activist is Bono of the rock band U2.

Bono travels the world talking to government leaders and legislators of the wealthiest nations in a bid to persuade them to devote more foreign aid to fight global poverty and end world hunger. Bono, as well as other celebrities, ardently believes that these rich countries ought to impose higher taxes to their top income brackets and on big corporations so that the monies that are generated can be reallocated to the countries that need it the most. For a lot of these activists, a higher tax is the solution to many of the world’s problems.

Incidentally, U2 is also one of the world’s most monetarily successful bands in the music industry. The revenues they derive from their merchandise and royalty payments are gargantuan.

However, instead of gleefully rejoicing that their native Ireland taxes their phenomenal wealth at a higher rate, U2 has quietly moved their financial operations to the Netherlands where royalty payments are nearly tax free. Consequently, ordinary people in Ireland will not be enjoying U2’s contribution to their public interest or in furthering their common good. Additionally, Ireland’s role to eradicate global poverty and to end world hunger will greatly be diminished because one of their top income producing corporations, U2 Limited, will no longer be available to be taxed.

U2 isn’t alone because the Rolling Stones as well as other financially successful European bands and celebrities have been doing the exact same thing for years. In fact, the Netherlands is an extraordinary tax haven for rich European celebrities who want to escape the high taxes that many European nations impose on its citizens. And besides, the Netherlands is a far safer financial environment to shield enormous wealth from taxation since it is a modern stable member of the European Community instead of the shady governments of Caribbean islands.

This strategic decision by U2 for a better tax treatment was prompted by Ireland raising its taxes on royalty income. Apparently Bono doesn’t like the idea of paying higher taxes to his own government even though it is for the common good of Ireland as well as for his country tackling the world’s problems. In fact, he feels that it is not in the public’s best interest to have access to his own money through taxation.

U2’s publicist refuses to comment on the matter and this stonewall silence is common with other European celebrities who do not want to publicize their hypocrisy.

But what is truly paradoxical is that many left wingers want economically successful governments to impose even harsher socialistic policies on their own countries because they feel that free enterprise is wrong and demented even though the world’s wealthiest liberals have made their fortunes by adhering to the principles of the free market. The government didn’t make movie stars and rock stars filthy rich; it was the free market that did it.

It is sheer hypocrisy that rich liberals do not want to share their generous windfall with everyone else or have their wealth heavily taxed by socialist countries even though they adamantly advocate that the ordinary person surrenders most of his or her income to the government. It is unfathomable that these hypocrites want to place enormous tax burdens on regular people who are already struggling with their own finances while thinking that they are exempt from the very same taxes that are needed to solve the world’s problems.

And what is most disconcerting is that the press has hardly brought this issue to the forefront especially since this has been going on for quite a while by other rich European celebrities.

Oftentimes, left wing politicians love to soak up generous media time castigating rich conservatives who made a fortune off of the free market yet they ignore rich liberals who are evading their taxes. Class warfare is a popular staple of politics for liberals because it can easily be used to demonize conservatives about wealth yet they are reluctant to bludgeon fellow left wingers with it. Apparently, being rich and conservative is wrong while being rich and liberal occupies the high moral ground even when you are skipping out on taxes.

It is time for this hypocrisy to come to an end. European celebrities love the egalitarian ambitions of their socialistic governments except they don’t want to pay for it with their own money although they are demanding that everyone else foot the bill for a Utopian society. It is time for them to feel the pain that is involved in emptying out your wallet to your own government. If not, that is fine but don’t go preaching to the world that everyone else must pay through the nose to satisfy a celebrity’s vision of world peace.

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