Thursday, January 19, 2012

Tropical Paradise

Mitt Romney, like a lot of very rich people, keeps a lot of his assets in a place only the average person can dream of…

Although it is not apparent on his financial disclosure form, Mitt Romney has millions of dollars of his personal wealth in investment funds set up in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven.

A spokesperson for the Romney campaign says Romney follows all tax laws and he would pay the same in taxes regardless of where the funds are based.

As the race for the Republican nomination heats up, Mitt Romney is finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a shroud of secrecy around the details about his vast personal wealth, including, as ABC News has discovered, his investment in funds located offshore and his ability to pay a lower tax rate.

“His personal finances are a poster child of what’s wrong with the American tax system,” said Jack Blum, a Washington lawyer who is an authority on tax enforcement and offshore banking.

Yes, that 15% tax bracket is just crushing, isn’t it? So it makes perfect sense to keep your money in a place where they have fifteen different words for “cocktail umbrella.”