Bain Documents: Romney Offshore Investments Used 'Blockers' To Avoid Taxes

[Ian David]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by cyberswede (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: ABC News

The private equity firm founded by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made use of arcane techniques in several of its Cayman Islands-based funds to avoid U.S. taxes, according to a trove of Bain Capital's private audit and finance records made public on the website Gawker today.

The audited financial statements of one of the Cayman Islands funds make note of the use of "blocker" entities, which are used to help retirement accounts and nonprofit entities avoid some taxes. Financial statements for another fund note that it "intends to conduct its operations so it will … not be subject to United States federal income or withholding tax ..."

Those details emerge on the statements of two funds in which Romney still holds a sizeable investment, according to the financial disclosure statements he filed when he announced his bid for president.

The publication of the Bain Documents on the Gawker website could rekindle debate about Romney's role at the company, and specifically about Bain's decision to domicile many of its funds in offshore locations known as tax havens.


Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is shown during a campaign rally, Aug. 20, 2012, in Manchester N.H. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/bain-documents-romney-offshore-investments-blockers-avoid-taxes/story?id=17067015#.UDasXFH3Bol

[beac]

1. Mitt looks like he needs a UNblocker....

it must hurt to be so full of sh!t.


Glad to see the article also touches on Mitten's magical million-plus IRA. Thanks for posting!

[wordpix]

5. Do you mean THIS magical IRA that made him 100-1000% in one year?

Sankaty Credit Opportunities LP

John Cook

This document is part of a package on Mitt Romney's Bain holdings. For the full report, go here.

Sankaty Credit Opportunities LP is a Delaware-based limited partnership. As of 2009, it held $266 million in assets and reported a $52 million increase in capital for the year.

In 2011, the Ann D. Romney Blind Trust held between $50,000 and $100,000 in the partnership and earned between $5,000 and $15,000. In 2006, the Ann Romney Trust held between $100,000 and $250,000 and earned between $50,000 and $100,000. In 2006, Mitt Romney's IRA held between $50,000 and $100,000 and earned between $100,000 and $1 mllion.

http://gawker.com/5933809:

: Note in 2011 when Rmoney is the nominee Ann Romney's blind trust makes a hefty but doable 10-35%. But in 2006 when non one's looking, her Trust makes 50-100% and Rmoney's IRA makes 100-1000%.

[beac]

8. That's the one! n/t

[JDPriestly]

12. Wow! While pension funds, Main Street employers and

small investors were losing their shirts . . . . and Americans were losing their homes, the Romneys were cashing in like bandits.

Horrors!

Romney definitely knows how to take care of No. 1.

[wordpix]

14. hahaha, he definitely looks worried

[highplainsdem]

2. K&R

[Grown2Hate]

3. Drip, drip, dripdrip, dripdripdrip... NT

[Lint Head]

4. Yea! Come on GOP. Let's make it about the economy.

Let's make it about the crooks like Romney who devastated it.

[wordpix]

6. seems another name for "blockers" is "money laundering to avoid taxes"

Isn't that a crime?

[Coyotl]

7. If he retroactively pays those taxes, will

this story then not exist at all

[beac]

9. I think he may be worried about a little retroactive tax paying that he already did:

http://www.nationofchange.org/mitt-romney-trying-avoid-having-admit-massive-tax-fraud-1345555415

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/13/business/fi-swiss13

[wordpix]

10. that nationofchange article is WOW! but he DID NOT do the retroactive tax paying

The article says he had a chance to pay retroactively with the amnesty deal, but he did not take the IRS up on the deal. So he may be guilty of massive tax fraud.

If he had paid up in 09 he would have made things right, but that would have looked bad for a presidential run, so the hypothesis is he kept quiet. Ergo, if he was hiding taxes illegally overseas, he's guilty.

[beac]

11. Actually, the article doesn't say whether he did or didn't take the amnesty

(or even if he definitely NEEDED to take it) but his refusal to release 2008/9 is VERY suggestive, I'd say.

None of this is proof that Romney is guilty of felony tax fraud, of course. On the other hand, it is curious that John McCain would have gone for the loopy lady from Wassilla and rejected Romney as his running mate back in 2008. Mitt was seriously in the running as a candidate for the job of VP on the McCain ticket at one point, and the UBS scandal broke right when McCain was picking his running mate. It seems logical that McCain's vetting team would have asked Romney if the scandal might touch him. Maybe they ruled him out of contention when they got the answer.

In any case, running for president is not for sissies, and there is no presumption of innocence in politics. If Romney did not commit tax fraud back in 2008 and earlier, and did not avail himself of the IRS's 2009 tax amnesty program, he should have to prove it by releasing his 2007, 2008 and 2009 taxes, and, if the 2007 and 2008 filings turn out to have been belatedly corrected, he should have to show the original filings too.http://www.nationofchange.org/mitt-romney-trying-avoid-having-admit-massive-tax-fraud-1345555415

edited to correct HTML

[wordpix]

13. you're right - is there a way to get those names?

The ones who used the amnesty prog., that is.

Then at least we'd know if Rmoney used it. If not, I'm betting on tax fraud big time.

[cyberswede]

15. Locking - duplicate topic

See this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014204343