Irish rock group U2 is under attack in its home country for dodging tax via a building on Amsterdam’s Herengracht, the Volkskrant reported at the weekend.

The Irish aid lobby group Debt and Development Coalition is angry that the band, currently promoting their new album, has moved U2 Limited, which owns U2’s copyrights, from Dublin to Amsterdam.
The move was made after the Irish government introduced a €250,000 ceiling on tax free royalties and is at odds with lead singer Bono’s charity work, the DDCI says. In the Netherlands, the band’s royalties are not taxed at all.
U2 Limited is based on the Herengracht 566, the same place that the Rolling Stones have used to avoid tax since 1971. According to chamber of commerce accounts, in 2007, the company had income of €25m.
But the Netherlands does benefit. In 2007, U2 Limited paid €280,000 to the Dutch state in corporate taxes, the paper says.