Incorporates publishing business in Netherlands

In August 2006, the band incorporated its publishing business in the Netherlands following the capping of Irish artists’ tax exemption at €250,000 . The Edge stated that businesses often seek to minimise their tax burdens. The move was criticised in the Irish parliament . The band defended themselves, saying approximately 95% of their business took place outside Ireland, that they were taxed globally because of this, and that they were all “personal investors and employers in the country”. Bono later said, “I think U2’s tax business is our own business and I think it is not just to the letter of the law but to the spirit of the law.”