This was in an interview to the National Review – a publication not remotely trying to do a ‘ gotcha’ with Willard:
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.
Think about this answer for a minute. Willard tells us all the time who he is, and this answer is just part of that.
Those offshore accounts exist so that FOREIGNERS can MAKE MONEY IN THE UNITED STATES
but NOT PAY TAXES TO THE UNITED STATES.
Does this sound like a man who has the FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE FOREFRONT OF HIS MIND?
Really?
And, even if that’s the PURPOSE of the offshore accounts…..it still doesn’t answer the question of…
WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE YOUR OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS?
GET.HIM. rikyrah, GET.HIM! Romney thinks the rest of us REAL AMERICANS are BLIND to his dealing. Naw, son; you know exactly what’s goind down with you finances and taxes.
RELEASE YOUR TAX RETURNS, MITT ROMNEY; then things can cleared up.
Bain Capital started with help of offshore investors
Mitt Romney’s firm raised more than a third of its first investment fund from wealthy foreigners — who mostly used companies in Panama, then known for tax advantages and banking secrecy.
By Joseph Tanfani, Melanie Mason and Matea Gold
July 19, 2012, 3:00 a.m.
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — When Mitt Romney launched Bain Capital in 1984, he struggled at first to raise enough money for the untested venture. Old-money families like the Rothschilds turned down the young Boston consultant.
So he and his partners tapped an eclectic roster of investors, raising more than a third of their first $37-million investment fund from wealthy foreigners.
Most of the foreign investors’ money came through corporations registered in Panama, then known for tax advantages and unusual banking secrecy.
Previously unreported details, documented in Massachusetts corporate filings and other public records, show that Bain Capital was enmeshed in the largely opaque world of international high finance from its very inception.
The documents don’t indicate any wrongdoing, and experts say that such financial vehicles are common for wealthy foreign investors. But the new details come as President Obama has criticized Romney for profiting from Bain Capital’s own offshore investment entities, which are unavailable to most Americans.
The Romney campaign declined to comment on the specifics of Bain’s early investors. Romney has argued that his offshore investments are entirely proper, and that he has paid all the U.S. taxes that he owes. The offshore funds do provide tax advantages for foreign investors, allowing Bain to attract billions of dollars.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bain-creation-20120719,0,5698366,full.story
Romney’s London fundraisers will take him to heart of scandal-plagued banking industry
By Philip Rucker and Dan Eggen, Published: July 18
Mitt Romney’s overseas trip next week will take him to the heart of London’s scandal-ridden banking industry, as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee holds two campaign fundraisers hosted by lobbyists and executives from more than two dozen financial institutions.
The hosts of Romney’s high-dollar reception and dinner on July 26 overwhelmingly represent banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions, some of which are embroiled in the Libor rate-fixing scandal.
By appearing at the fundraisers on the eve of the Olympics’ Opening Ceremonies, Romney risks associating his campaign with the unfolding scandal, which focuses on banks that manipulated the London interbank offered rate, a benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and other financial contracts.
One of the event’s co-chairs is Patrick Durkin, a Washington-based lobbyist for Barclays, which agreed last month to pay $450 million to settle allegations that it manipulated Libor before and after the financial crisis. Durkin has helped raise $1.1 million for the Romney campaign, according to U.S. disclosure records.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romneys-london-fundraisers-will-take-him-to-heart-of-scandal-plagued-banking-industry/2012/07/18/gJQAzKqGuW_story.html?wpmk=MK0000203