Romney explains Cayman accounts, confusingly, as a benefit to "Foreign Investors"

[maddezmom]

By Reid Pillifant

1:47 pm Jul. 17, 2012


Today, after a couple weeks' worth of unshakeable attacks from Democrats about his extraordinary off-shore tax sheltering, Mitt Romney made his most direct attempt to date to explain his system of personal investments, in an interview with National Review.

¬snip¬


The exchange:


From a political perspective, a lot of pundits wonder why you haven’t gotten rid of your offshore accounts. Can you explain why you have not done that?

Well, first of all, all of my investments are managed in a blind trust. By virtue of that, the decisions made by the trustee are the decisions that determine where the investments are. Secondly, the so-called offshore account in the Cayman Islands, for instance, is an account established by a U.S. firm to allow foreign investors to invest in U.S. enterprises and not be subject to taxes outside of their own jurisdiction. So in many instances, the investments in something of that nature are brought back into the United States. The world of finance is not as simple as some would have you believe. Sometimes a foreign entity is formed to allow foreign investors to invest in the United States, which may well be the case with the entities that Democrats are describing as foreign accounts.

The obvious problem with that explanation would seem to be that Romney isn't a foreign investor. In his case, particularly with regard to his I.R.A., employing an island pass-through allows him to avoid paying the Unrelated Business Income Tax on that investment.


the NRO interview if anyone is interested:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/309673/romney-tax-returns-i-m-simply-not-enthusiastic-about-giving-them-hundreds-or-thousands

[pinto]

1. Oh what a tangled web we weave...

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. Maybe Romney IS a foreign investor!

I like that Romney ends up being much more "foreign" than Obama!

[struggle4progress]

5. I wish Romney would learn how to be an American investor!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

3. Romney needs to try his hand at singing the "Internationale" instead of America The Beautiful

He speaks French, right?

[Raven]

4. Based on his explanation...does Mitt know how to be an American? :-)

[KeepItReal]

6. That explains it! Foreigners are investing in a corporation (RMoney's Caymans bank account).

And that corporation's owner is involved in the enterprise of running for President of the United States.

Nothing controversial about that... Right, RMoney?

[Lint Head]

7. The problem with that explanation is also that foreign investors are avoiding

taxes in this country while investing and enjoying the benefits of this country. Willard is helping foreign investors avoid the very taxes that the GOP is trying to keep low for the 1%. I think if you make more money you should pay more because you are using more of the resources that taxes pay for.

[rustydog]

8. Ok dog abuser, here we go: First and foremost

You keep stating with authority and certain firmness that your investments are managed in a blind trust.
Goody for you..You also said in 1994:
"The blind trust is an age old ruse, if you will, which is to say you can always tell the blind truxt what it can and cannot do. You give a blind trust rules."

Will you give a retroactive response to your 1994 assertion on blind trusts?

[malaise]

9. Keep digging Willard

You'll soon see China from your back yard

[DefenseLawyer]

10. It's complicated, I don't expect you people to understand.

If that's the best answer they could come up with, I'd love to see the ones that didn't make the cut.