Mitt Romney----well look here

[Heavyduty053]

Mit Romney mister smooth talker has been busted.....ABC news Investigative reports and Jack Blum Washington DC Tax Enforcement officer and lawyer for offshore accounts has uncovered 138 accounts under Mitt Romneys name on them in the Cayman Islands in special account to evade taxes. Mr. Romney net worth is more than 250 million and most of that is in these accounts off shore. They have the documents to prove these allegations. This man is being prepared for the highest office in our nation and he is untruthful, cheating on his taxes not declaring his total worth to evade taxes. Mitt said in one of the debates that he paid his taxes of 15%, well how did he get a 15% tax rate on known monies while the average American payes 35%. No wonder he has been delaying presenting his tax returns on national tv until they could fine a way to present them without being caught.......250 million 60% of that hidden off shores to evade taxes only paying taxes on what here in this country and a lower rate than we pay.....These kind of things makes my blood boil. Now you see what he is offering America. I should see more on this coming from ABC News and i hope it kills his chances of winning the election. Another rotten, no good untruthful so called american who has made his money off the backs of the people who belived in him with their investments and when broke while he pocketed millions.

Edited January 19, 2012 by Heavyduty053

[CrappieShark]

Are you ready for this America. Better get out and vote. Again Rob Paul is the only man who is consistent and honest and has impeccable character. That's what I call Presidential.

Edited January 19, 2012 by CrappieShark

[FlintNPebbles]

Hmmmm I keep getting an error when I try to + or - someone...but thanks for the story. I don't like Mitt Romney....he seems sleazy (and that was before this post)...that's just my opinion

[Capn Geech]

A politician did something illegal?

"I'm shocked....SHOCKED. I say!"

[sxsess]

Hmmmm I keep getting an error when I try to + or - someone...but thanks for the story. I don't like Mitt Romney....he seems sleazy (and that was before this post)...that's just my opinion

As bad as Mitt maybe, he's 1000% better than the liar in office now.

[debandlv]

This makes me laugh. But we are looking at investing in off shore accounts and that's okay for us but not anybody else. Really get real. I would do anything also to avoid taxes. And he did not make the tax laws

[learning all i can]

my question would be: What is the difference in Romney puting or keeping his $$$$'s off shore and US after a RV taking our $$$$'s off shore? I don't think he is hiding these facts from others. After all, this is legal, isn't it?

[Luigi1]

Nothing new. Four years ago Mitt had Swiss bank accounts & got away with paying no taxes.

No surprise here.

[sxsess]

This makes me laugh. But we are looking at investing in off shore accounts and that's okay for us but not anybody else. Really get real. I would do anything also to avoid taxes. And he did not make the tax laws

True statement. Liberals come up with anything they can to divert facts away from Obama. No offense Heavy, I'm not calling you a liberal. I'm referring to ABC and the rest of the communist proganda outlets in this country.

[parmenio]

There's nothing illegal about anyone parking his/her assets offshore. Where do you think the Kennedy's have their investments and trust funds set up? Kerry is no different as are hundreds of other politicians in both parties. I dare say there will be thousands of dinar holders who will do the EXACT same thing once the dinar RV's. To me anyone who condemns this is a hypocrite!

If you don't like offshore companies and banks then petition your Congressman/woman and Senators to change the Offshore Laws.

[FreckledFuzz]

http://news.yahoo.com/romney-parks-millions-offshore-tax-haven-160547876--abc-news.html

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."

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."

Bain Accounts in the Cayman Islands

Bain's presence in the Cayman Islands is not something the firm advertises. The Los Angeles Times first disclosed Romney's offshore accounts in 2007, during his initial run for the presidency. ABC News found references to the firm's accounts in the Caymans in the footnotes of securities filings. When ABC News went to the office address listed for Romney's Bain funds, lawyers in the Caymans were not eager to answer questions.

Asked if he could confirm the existence of the Bain accounts, David Byrne, the chief marketing officer for the law firm Walkers, listed on documents as Bain's Caymans' representative, said he could not. "No, I can't at all," said Byrne. "Unfortunately, I can't comment at all on that."

There is now less secrecy than there was even two weeks ago surrounding Romney's tax rate. The money he made through Bain investments was taxed as capital gains at a 15 percent rate, instead of the higher tax rates borne by most Americans. Newt Gingrich told reporters Wednesday that his income was taxed at 31 percent.

The so-called "carried interest" rule has been the source of extensive debate in Washington, with opponents criticizing the allowance to tax those earnings at 15 percent a glaring loophole that benefits only the wealthiest Americans. Under the carried interest rule, income that is determined to be capital gains – like the profit reaped by hedge fund managers -- is subject to the lower 15 percent rate.

Wilkins said Romney's arrangements reminded her of the now famous remarks by billionaire financier Warren Buffet, who revealed in 2007 that he was paying taxes at a lower rate than his receptionist.

"Well, I think it's the issue that is sort of on the front page every day, when we look at the Occupy Wall Street movement and that people are really losing patience with the idea that a lot of multinational corporations have and a lot of wealthy people have that while they benefit from everything this country has to offer … they don't seem to be willing to pay their fair share," she said.

Romney, who left Bain in 1999, has confirmed that his earnings largely come from investments, and the tax rate he pays is consistent with that "because my last 10 years, my income comes overwhelmingly from some investments made in the past, whether ordinary income or earned annually. I got a little bit of income from my book, but I gave that all away. And then I get speaker's fees from time to time, but not very much."

[learning all i can]

all of this is coming from abc....one minded, liberal, tunnel vision view....If you're gonna slam someone...I need some facts from other sources as well...I just find it pitiful how elections can bring out the hatred and the very worst in people.

[Roscoboy007]

If you read the FULL article it will tell you that what he did was 100% LEGAL and these were after tax dollars. So he did nothing wrong and ABC states that.

[parmenio]

Mit Romney mister smooth talker has been busted.....ABC news Investigative reports and Jack Blum Washington DC Tax Enforcement officer and lawyer for offshore accounts has uncovered 138 accounts under Mitt Romneys name on them in the Cayman Islands in special account to evade taxes. Mr. Romney net worth is more than 250 million and most of that is in these accounts off shore. They have the documents to prove these allegations. This man is being prepared for the highest office in our nation and he is untruthful, cheating on his taxes not declaring his total worth to evade taxes. Mitt said in one of the debates that he paid his taxes of 15%, well how did he get a 15% tax rate on known monies while the average American payes 35%. No wonder he has been delaying presenting his tax returns on national tv until they could fine a way to present them without being caught.......250 million 60% of that hidden off shores to evade taxes only paying taxes on what here in this country and a lower rate than we pay.....These kind of things makes my blood boil. Now you see what he is offering America. I should see more on this coming from ABC News and i hope it kills his chances of winning the election. Another rotten, no good untruthful so called american who has made his money off the backs of the people who belived in him with their investments and when broke while he pocketed millions.

Any other comments you would like to make?

[Saint]

Just heard he's dropped out of the race for president. Guess that only leaves Paul as the best and honest person left out there.

[Francie26]

I don't mind that Romney has his money in a safe place in the Cayman Islands, or anywhere else offshore, for that matter. I don't think doing this is illegal, and he has the right to make that decision. But . . . I just don't trust him. I can't tell you why exactly, but there's just something about him that reminds me of John Edwards.

[okane]

Dude! Opinons are one thing but check your facts. I saw the reports also and they didn't say what you said. 138 accounts in C.I. under Bain Capital not Mitt Romney's name and who knows if he had anything to do with all 138 account not in his name.

"to evade taxes" you know better than that! It was all perfectly legal. What do you think folks in some sections of this site are doing??? Well it ain't evading taxes! No one has "documents" to prove what you are claiming. The "average American" does not pay 35% in federal income tax. Heavy, you are way starter than that. In that report it was estimated that Romney had around 30 million held in offshore accounts, not the 150 mil you suggested. People who invested in Bain Capital did not go broke, as you claim, some of the companies that Bain Capital invested in did, in fact, go under or were consolidated into other factories to make them profitable. So if I buy stock in Google or Pepsi am I too making "money off the backs" of other people. Should I feel bad for believing in those companies enough to put my money at risk? "rotten", "no good", "untruthful", "so called american" (that would be American, big A) In your opinion all of those ugly words should also apply to each of us invested in this adventure, dinar. Shame on us, for we too will have made our money off the backs of others. And I, for one, will protect my gains in the same manner that Mr. Romney, Bain Capital and untold others legally do everyday.

Heavy, you mentioned that this made your "blood boil", that point is noted but it also seems to have blurred your judgement. I have followed and agreed with many of you comments in the past but your rant almost seems personal, like it is more than just a political opinion. Take care and I do hope your day gets better.

This makes me laugh. But we are looking at investing in off shore accounts and that's okay for us but not anybody else. Really get real. I would do anything also to avoid taxes. And he did not make the tax laws

Amen

[learning all i can]

Just heard he's dropped out of the race for president. Guess that only leaves Paul as the best and honest person left out there.

Mitt Romney?????or are you talking about Rick Perry dropping out?

[FlintNPebbles]

It's not so much that he has his money in a Cayman's account....at least not to me. Everyone has the right to hold on to as much as they can, legally. It's just him and his policies that I find offense with. He may be better than Obama...but which way? In my opinion it would be just a sideways move. Sorry to offend anyone who likes Romney.

And I do kind of think that if you want to be President and be in public service you should have to give as much as the people...and his 15% is not close to what we pay in taxes.

I know....there is an argument for both sides of that....that is JMHO.

[okane]

my question would be: What is the difference in Romney puting or keeping his $$$$'s off shore and US after a RV taking our $$$$'s off shore? I don't think he is hiding these facts from others. After all, this is legal, isn't it?

No, their is nothing illegal about this at all.

[learning all i can]

Dude! Opinons are one thing but check your facts. I saw the reports also and they didn't say what you said. 138 accounts in C.I. under Bain Capital not Mitt Romney's name and who knows if he had anything to do with all 138 account not in his name.

"to evade taxes" you know better than that! It was all perfectly legal. What do you think folks in some sections of this site are doing??? Well it ain't evading taxes! No one has "documents" to prove what you are claiming. The "average American" does not pay 35% in federal income tax. Heavy, you are way starter than that. In that report it was estimated that Romney had around 30 million held in offshore accounts, not the 150 mil you suggested. People who invested in Bain Capital did not go broke, as you claim, some of the companies that Bain Capital invested in did, in fact, go under or were consolidated into other factories to make them profitable. So if I buy stock in Google or Pepsi am I too making "money off the backs" of other people. Should I feel bad for believing in those companies enough to put my money at risk? "rotten", "no good", "untruthful", "so called american" (that would be American, big A) In your opinion all of those ugly words should also apply to each of us invested in this adventure, dinar. Shame on us, for we too will have made our money off the backs of others. And I, for one, will protect my gains in the same manner that Mr. Romney, Bain Capital and untold others legally do everyday.

Heavy, you mentioned that this made your "blood boil", that point is noted but it also seems to have blurred your judgement. I have followed and agreed with many of you comments in the past but your rant almost seems personal, like it is more than just a political opinion. Take care and I do hope your day gets better.

Amen

whoop! whoop! sure wish I could give out +'s (pluses) right now. Several folks here certainly deserve them....bump

[okane]

The latest year that average American tax rates were available were from 2007. The rate was 20.4%.

[Francie26]

Just heard he's dropped out of the race for president. Guess that only leaves Paul as the best and honest person left out there.

Nope. It does not!! It also leaves Gingrich and Santorum. I want Gingrich, but I will vote for either of these men before I would even think of voting for Paul. In fact, the only reason I would vote for Paul is if he is the last man standing, other than obama. Above all, I want "O" out of there!!! But close behind, I want an American in the office who will help our country get back her Glory and will help our citizens get back their Pride and Patriotism. Oh, and let me not forget--one who will help us all get back the American Way, so we can find jobs and earn livings and build businesses and support families and dream dreams and laugh again about that now-defunct Triumvirate of Horror, Obama, Reid, and Pelosi, whose very names will go down in infamy.

[Shabibilicious]

all of this is coming from abc....one minded, liberal, tunnel vision view....If you're gonna slam someone...I need some facts from other sources as well...I just find it pitiful how elections can bring out the hatred and the very worst in people.

I'm with you. I thought we weren't supposed to trust main stream media. I guess if it suits our needs, it's okay. Glad we got that cleared up.

GO RV, then BV

[Heavyduty053]

There's nothing illegal about anyone parking his/her assets offshore. Where do you think the Kennedy's have their investments and trust funds set up? Kerry is no different as are hundreds of other politicians in both parties. I dare say there will be thousands of dinar holders who will do the EXACT same thing once the dinar RV's. To me anyone who condemns this is a hypocrite!

If you don't like offshore companies and banks then petition your Congressman/woman and Senators to change the Offshore Laws.

parmenio are you referring to me being a hypocrite because of the posting of news on Mitt. I would like your rebuttal to this and state the reason why you called me a hypocrite. I'll be waiting