Fine, Ann. Lets talk about YOU. If you speak on behalf of a candidate, you invite scrutiny. If, further, your finances are intertwined with those of the candidate, you practically invite scrutiny. So, Ann Romney: Explain the Bermuda corporation, Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors, Ltd. that you own. Explain the reasoning behind this: Sankaty was transferred to a trust owned by Romney’s wife, Ann, one day before he was sworn in as Massachusetts governor in 2003, according to Bermuda records obtained by The Associated Press. The Romneys’ ownership of the offshore firm did not appear on any state or federal financial reports during Romney’s two presidential campaigns. Only the Romneys’ 2010 tax records, released under political pressure earlier this year, confirmed their continuing control of the company. While it was nearly valueless as of your 2010 tax return, it wasnt in 2003. Heres the SECs list of transactions since early 2003. They reference sales of stock in ChipPAC, participation in Dominos Pizzas IPO and subsequent sales of Dominos shares. Bains interests in ChipPAC were after your husband left Bain. How did your trust end up with shares? Of course, Sankaty (and the welter of other firms with Sankaty in their names) could have been used for any number of other things: ...private equity experts said such holdings could provide significant income to Romney under his 10-year separation agreement from Bain, which expired in 2009. Investment funds typically churn carried interest, profit shares due to the managers of the funds that often range as much as 20 percent of a fund’s annual profit — known as the carry. Even after investment funds are exhausted, profit shares and other late earnings from those stakes can continue to stream, arriving as lucrative tails, tax experts say. In some circumstances, the analysts added, offshore companies like Sankaty could also offer limited tax deferral advantages. And just my personal observation: I bet its lots easier to move money to, say, Switzerland from a Bermuda account. So, Ann. IMHO, youre no different than Theresa Heinz Kerry. Your husband apparently thinks she should have released her tax returns, for Petes sake. How about you explain Sankaty to us? Oh, and an aside to Jed: The GOP has made a spectator sport of breaking the unwritten rule about spouses since, oh, about 1992.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 18:11:11 +0000
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