Romney Team Silent On Key Offshore Tax Avoidance Question

[highplainsdem]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/camp-romney-silent-on-key-outstanding-tax-avoidance-question.php

Just over a week ago, Mitt Romney’s top campaign and financial aides held an on-the-record press call to walk reporters through the former governor’s 2010 tax return.

The briefing cleared up several questions, but left others unanswered — including one from TPM that will either exculpate Romney from allegations that he’s used investments in offshore entities to avoid U.S. taxes, or reveal that his campaign has not fully addressed those allegations.

On the call, Romney’s trustee pledged get back to us with this information. But despite multiple inquiries in the days since the conference call, the Romney camp has not set the record straight one way or another.

Romney has disclosed a substantial individual retirement account (IRA) that, as the Wall Street Journal first noted, could have made offshore investments that circumvented an obscure U.S. tax called the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT).

-snip-

TPM had simply asked if Romney's "IRA had invested in any offshore entities that would have made it subject to the UBIT if those entities were located on U.S. soil." The fact Romney's campaign hasn't answered this yet -- when it makes no sense to leave this issue hanging -- suggests they're hiding evidence that will show Romney used this offshore investment to avoid the 35% UBIT tax.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

1. ROMNEY IS AT THE HEAD OF A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE

PERIOD

[Auggie]

2. They'll have to answer this sooner or later

[gopiscrap]

3. Sounds to me like he needs

to be audited big time...plus an investigation as to his reporting of assets and income on his FEC forms. I remember when I ran for Congress even 20 years ago the forms were pretty lenghty, I'm sure he "failed" to be totally honest. Even if nothing he did was illegal...to me it's very unpatriotic to "hide" your money out of the US to avoid your civic economic responsiblity. Willard is a tax dodger!

[Smilo]

4. I hope someone keeps on him about this...

Every appearance someone should ask - so why did you invest offshore to avoid paying US taxes?

[reformist2]

5. When does tax avoidance become tax evasion???

There might be a legal difference, but there's not much of an ethical difference, imo.

[PassingFair]

6. Depends on who writes the laws.

And who they want to prosecute.