Tax Expert: Mitt Romney Is An Olympic Level Athlete At The Tax Avoidance Game

[ProSense]

Tax Expert: Mitt Romney Is An Olympic Level Athlete At The Tax Avoidance Game

by eXtina

Sure, we've had lots of speculation as to what Mitt Romney's hiding by not releasing his taxes (save for a partial one from 2010). In his defense Romney has said he "has paid all the taxes that are legally due", which theoretically could be zero. He also says that his financial disclosure forms are more than enough for you people. Here they are for 2006, 2010, and 2011. They consist of an interminable stack of spreadsheets showing every 'entity' that contains Mitt's money, with an amount range checkbox filled in - page after page of this.


I've paid every penny of taxes legally due.

Of course, we know now that his financial disclosure forms don't tell us anything but his estimated financial net worth, as revealing the partial tax return told us of previously unknown bank accounts in the Caymans and Switzerland. So who knows what is lurking in those unreleased returns. But Michael J. Graetz, a professor of tax law at Columbia, and former deputy assistant Treasury secretary for tax policy from 1990 to 1991, takes an informed look in an article in the New York Times.

Right off the bat Graetz dismisses the possiblity that Romney hasn't paid taxes on the Swiss bank account, as too brazen and easy to get caught.

I can’t imagine that he would have engaged in such blatant tax cheating. He is far too smart for that.

But with other aggressive tax strategies Romney has likely avoided paying tens of milions in taxes.

He goes on to list what he considers the two most likely possibilities of what is lurking in Willard Mitt Romney's unreleased tax returns. The possibility of paying even less than 13.9% is more likely. It's more plausible, and because of the potential political damage this could cause, gives Romney incentive to withhold the returns. Romney's claim that parking his money offshore hasn't saved him any money on his taxes, but the one year he's released casts doubt onto this.

- more -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/05/1116875/-Tax-Expert-Mitt-Romney-Olympic-Level-Athlete-At-The-Tax-Avoidance-Game

This is a person who worked in the Bush Sr. administration.

[C_U_L8R]

1. What if...

Rmoney made a deductable donation to "gasp" Planned Parenthood or other librul causes to ingratiate himself into the more moderate Massachusetts political scene.

Rightwingers would be horrified.

[elleng]

2. Yes, as I suspected, Olympic level.

Among other things:

According to a partner at Mr. Romney’s trustee’s law firm, valuing carried interests, such as Mr. Romney’s interests in the private equity company Bain Capital, at zero for gift tax purposes was common advice given to clients like Mr. Romney in the 1990s and early 2000s.

If detected, undervaluing large gifts to one’s children could provoke large penalties from the I.R.S. These are the kinds of tax penalties that even multinational corporations try to avoid because they fear how the public would react to the adverse publicity that would inevitably follow.

To settle these questions, Mr. Romney should release his gift tax returns, or other documents showing how he valued his transfers to his family’s trust and to his I.R.A., and at least three additional years of income tax returns.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/31/opinion/the-mysteries-of-mitt-romneys-financial-records.html

[ProSense]

3. Mitt's tax returns

If detected, undervaluing large gifts to one’s children could provoke large penalties from the I.R.S. These are the kinds of tax penalties that even multinational corporations try to avoid because they fear how the public would react to the adverse publicity that would inevitably follow.

...could reveal a lot, and he could end up owning money. That would be rich!

[ProSense]

4. Kick! n/t

[malaise]

5. Another kick

and a rec

[ProSense]

7. Thanks, Funny that

the media assholes aren't attacking a former Bush Sr. official for accusing Mitt Romney of "tax avoidance."

[malaise]

8. M$Greedia is making a lot of money thanks

to Citizens' United. Follow the money.

[KharmaTrain]

6. Simple Way For Him To Shut Up Harry Reid...

He doesn't even have to disclose his entire returns (which he never will)...or that of his wife (where I'm sure other assets are sheltered). The charge is he hasn't paid ANY federal taxes over a 10 year span (I'll assume for shits and giggles that would be 1999-2009). Willard should have either a cancelled check for said paid taxes...just produce those checks and that should answer the issue, no?