Bono: You’re Stupid in Business
on Tuesday, April 12, 2016Bono Money Quote saying legally provided tax avoidance is used by all smart businesses. Bono said:
“Don’t take advantage of tax breaks? Then you’re stupid in business” — Bono
In this quote, Bono is acknowledging that taking advantage of legal tax breaks and incentives is often seen as prudent business strategy. His point seems to be that from a purely financial perspective, a for-profit business would be making a poor decision to not utilize tax deductions, credits or loopholes that could lower their tax burden and increase profits.
Bono implies that opting out of such tax-saving opportunities could even be viewed as “stupid” in terms of maximizing returns. However, some may argue that aggressively minimizing taxes through complex structures raises ethical issues, especially for very profitable multinational firms.
Overall, Bono’s statement conveys an understanding of why businesses feel pressure to minimize taxes for competitive reasons, even while reasonable people can disagree on where to draw the line between legal optimization and potential tax avoidance.