Madam, - Your front page story (October 27th) revealing that the annual wages paid to 5 unnamed, but maybe obvious, people in U2 Ltd was approximately €20 million, while noting that Bono and the boys are reputedly worth approximately €600 million, again throws into focus their decision to move their publishing arm, the most lucrative part of their empire, out of Ireland to avoid tax.
This shocked this correspondent at the time because by engaging in such an aggressive form of offshore tax avoidance, which on a global basis makes the elimination of poverty and the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals impossible because it deprives governments of hundreds of millions in tax revenue, Bono obviously forfeited any right to be called an "anti-poverty" campaigner.
Fr Enda McDonagh recently described tax exile as a "scandal". However, the Bono and U2 variant of offshore tax avoidance is much worse because if they continue to escape any censure it will only serve to make this form of anti-social behaviour - while legal - even more socially acceptable. Indeed, it still beggars belief that Bono is actually referred to as an anti-poverty campaigner when he engages in activities which work directly against the interests of the world's poorest people.
And just to put that in perspective: the Tax Justice Network has estimated that the amount of funds held by wealthy individuals in tax havens could generate a staggering $255 billion dollars in additional tax revenue annually - enough alone to finance the Millennium Development Goals - which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/Aids and providing universal primary education by 2015.
If John O'Shea is right, and "selfish western governments" are responsible for betraying the world's poorest people, surely they only appear selfish because people like Bono leave taxes to the rest of us, the "little people" to quote the late billionaire Leona Helmsley, who at least spent time in prison for tax evasion. - Yours, etc,
RONAN TYNAN, Booterstown, Co Dublin.