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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBritish Members Of Parliament Call For Closure Of Romney’s Cayman Islands Tax Haven - ThinkProgress
British Members Of Parliament Call For Closure Of Romneys Cayman Islands Tax HavenBy Travis Waldron - ThinkProgress
Jan 23, 2012 at 10:20 am
<snip>
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) admitted last week that his tax rate was about 15 percent because his income mainly comes from investments that are taxed at lower rates than normal income. Romneys income is also bolstered by the fact that several of his investments worth millions of dollars take advantage of offshore tax havens in the Cayman Islands to boost profits.
Many of those investments are associated with Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney co-founded, which has an extensive history of using such tax havens to boost profits at a multi-billion dollar cost to American taxpayers. Those tax havens arent just causing outrage among Americans, however. The Cayman Islands are a British territory, and British MP John Cryer, a former member of the British Treasury Select Committee, told the British blog Left Foot Forward that it is a disgrace that corporations and investors like Romney and Bain can use them to avoid paying taxes:
As a former member of the Treasury select committee, I think it is a disgrace that the Cayman Islands, a tax haven, can enable wealthy corporations and individuals such as Mitt Romney and others in the wealthiest 1% to avoid tax and still be cloaked in secrecy. Meanwhile all across the western world, hard-working people are seeing their living standards and take-home pay stagnate or reduced.
It reminds me of President Kennedys comment in his inaugural speech, pay any price, bear any burden. Except its hard-working, modestly paid majority who are bearing that burden.
It reminds me of President Kennedys comment in his inaugural speech, pay any price, bear any burden. Except its hard-working, modestly paid majority who are bearing that burden.
According to Left Foot Forward, Cryer proposed a motion last week calling on the House of Commons to immediately close the Cayman Islands as a tax haven. The motion states that the House is alarmed by reports that Romney and others are using the Caymans to avoid paying the same tax rate as other US citizens and concerned about the continued use of tax havens by the top 1% in the US and UK to avoid paying the correct tax in their own country. The motion then calls on the UK government to introduce urgent legislation to help close tax havens and increase transparency so that the very richest pay their fair share of tax in their respective countries.
<snip>
Link: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/01/23/408937/british-romney-cayman-tax-haven/
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British Members Of Parliament Call For Closure Of Romney’s Cayman Islands Tax Haven - ThinkProgress (Original Post)
WillyT
Jan 2012
OP
Adding insult to injury, Romney has a proposed a tax holiday on repatriated funds.
AtomicKitten
Jan 2012
#5
msongs
(67,405 posts)1. $$ will just move to another tax avoidance location nt
WillyT
(72,631 posts)2. That's Ok... We'll Just Keep On Keepin After 'Em...
dogknob
(2,431 posts)3. Not if the assets are frozen.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)4. As far as I'm aware most deposits there exist as cash
So what's to freeze ? The Caymans don't even come under EU law let alone US law.
AtomicKitten
(46,585 posts)5. Adding insult to injury, Romney has a proposed a tax holiday on repatriated funds.