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politics and politicians Title: Romney Parks Millions in Cayman Islands Although it is not apparent on his financial disclosure form, Mitt Romney has millions of dollars of his personal wealth in investment funds set up in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven. A spokesperson for the Romney campaign says Romney follows all tax laws and he would pay the same in taxes regardless of where the funds are based. As the race for the Republican nomination heats up, Mitt Romney is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a shroud of secrecy around the details about his vast personal wealth, including, as ABC News has discovered, his investment in funds located offshore and his ability to pay a lower tax rate. "His personal finances are a poster child of what's wrong with the American tax system," said Jack Blum, a Washington lawyer who is an authority on tax enforcement and offshore banking. On Tuesday, Romney disclosed that he has been paying a far lower percentage in taxes than most Americans, around 15 percent of his annual earnings. It has been Romney's Republican rivals who have driven the tax issue onto center stage. For weeks, Romney has cited a desire for privacy as his reason for not sharing his tax returns -- a gesture of transparency that is now expected from presidential contenders. "I can tell you we follow the tax laws," he said recently while on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. "And if there's an opportunity to save taxes, we like anybody else in this country will follow that opportunity." Mitt Romney: The Wealth Factor Watch Video Mitt Romney in 60 Seconds Watch Video But tax experts tell ABC News there are other reasons Romney may not want the public viewing his returns. As one of the wealthiest candidates to run for president in recent times, Romney has used a variety of techniques to help minimize the taxes on his estimated $250 million fortune. In addition to paying the lower tax rate on his investment income, Romney has as much as $8 million invested in at least 12 funds listed on a Cayman Islands registry. Another investment, which Romney reports as being worth between $5 million and $25 million, shows up on securities records as having been domiciled in the Caymans. Official documents reviewed by ABC News show that Bain Capital, the private equity partnership Romney once ran, has set up some 138 secretive offshore funds in the Caymans. Romney campaign officials and those at Bain Capital tell ABC News that the purpose of setting up those accounts in the Cayman Islands is to help attract money from foreign investors, and that the accounts provide no tax advantage to American investors like Romney. Romney, the campaign said, has paid all U.S. taxes on income derived from those investments. "The tax consequences to the Romneys are the very same whether the fund is domiciled here or another country," a campaign official said in response to questions. "Gov. and Mrs. Romney have money invested in funds that the trustee has determined to be attractive investment opportunities, and those funds are domiciled wherever the fund sponsors happen to organize the funds." Bain officials called the decision to locate some funds offshore routine, and a benefit only to foreign investors who do not want to be subjected to U.S. taxes. Tax experts agree that Romney remains subject to American taxes. But they say the offshore accounts have provided him -- and Bain -- with other potential financial benefits, such as higher management fees and greater foreign interest, all at the expense of the U.S. Treasury. Rebecca J. Wilkins, a tax policy expert with Citizens for Tax Justice, said the federal government loses an estimated $100 billion a year because of tax havens. Blum, the D.C. tax lawyer, said working through an offshore investment vehicle allows the investor to "avoid a whole series of small traps in the tax code that ordinary people would face if they paid tax on an onshore basis." Wilkins agreed, saying the "primary advantage to setting those funds up in an offshore jurisdiction like the Cayman Islands or Bermuda is it helps the investors avoid tax." "It helps U.S. investors avoid U.S. tax," said Wilkins, "it helps foreign investors avoid taxes in their home country, so it's not illegal or improper to set those funds up in a foreign jurisdiction, but it makes it more attractive to investors because it helps them avoid paying taxes on that income."
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
WTF, who the hell does romney think he is, a kennedy or a kerry, the nerve of some people
Why doesn't he use his local credit union like the rest of us schmoes?
Beware the law of unintended consequences. Romney is becoming a poster child for a tax increase on the wealthy. Gingrich a poster child for the blantant "do as I say not as I do" hypocrisy of the GOP. Santorum the poster child for the Victims of Dodgeball wing. Perry replacing DumbDubv43 as the Peter Principle poster child. And Ron Paul is already firmly entrenched as Candidate Moonbat...antenna and all... It JUST doesn't get any better than this...
I'll believe that a corporation is a person 1 second after Texas executes one...
I blame no one for trying to keep as much of their money as possible out of the hands of pilfering plundering Democrats and their parasites, moochers, welfare deadbeats, Government Motors, SEIU union scum, ACORN, Solyndra & their other crony capitalist Solargate scammers, Stimulus, & Tarp 1&2 thieves, etc., etc., etc.. Besides, the Ebul Rich 1%ers like Romney already pay 36% corporate tax rate on their earnings before the government starts leeching the annual 15%. And if it's earning money that means it's keeping people employed. And by my math the 15% the Leftards have their thongs in a wad about sure beats the 0% that Obama's chief tax collector TurboTax Cheat Timmy Geithner and Obama's Jobs Czar Jefferey Immelt's Government Electric pay. I'll shut up about Moochelle's fat ass when she shuts up about mine.
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