Bono: 'We pay millions in tax'

Bono has claimed that he is "hurt" by accusations that U2 are hypocrites for moving parts of their business to the Netherlands to avoid paying higher taxes in Ireland.

The group had been criticised by charities including Oxfam for depriving Ireland of revenue for social services and overseas aid.

The U2 frontman told the Irish Times that they are simply part of the financial system and that the financial structure in Ireland was previously set up to make the country a "net-gain benefactor".

Bono said: "We pay millions and millions of dollars in tax. The thing that stung us was the accusation of hypocrisy for my work as an activist.

"[Ireland's financial architecture] was a way of attracting people to this country who wouldn't normally do business here and the financial services brought billions of dollars every year directly to the Exchequer.

"What's actually hypocritical is the idea that then you don't use a financial services centre in Holland."

Bandmate The Edge said: "It's our own private thing. We do business all over the world, we pay taxes all over the world and we are totally tax compliant."

The group's manager Paul McGuinness had previously said that at least 95% of U2's business is international and they pay many kinds of taxes across the globe.