““I question why an American businessman and particularly a candidate for president needs to invest vast sums of money in offshore accounts in typical notorious tax havens, that usually mean you’re trying to avoid taxation,” Wasserman-Schultz told reporters Monday in Boston. “If that’s not why he made those investments, he needs to come clean and show us he didn’t do that.”
After spending days pounding on presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney for having a Swiss bank account, disclosure forms show that DNC boss Debbie Wasserman Schultz also had funds in a Swiss bank account at one time. The Weekly Standard reported Tuesday that the Florida Democrat also had investments in foreign drug companies and the state bank of India.
“This revelation comes mere days after the Democratic chair attacked presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for holding money in Swiss bank accounts in the past,” Daniel Halper wrote at the Weekly Standard. The revelation comes on the heels of her refusal to release her own tax forms after repeatedly demanding Romney release his.
I guess it’s true, you really can’t fix stoopid.
The pot calling the kettle black.
Typical politics.
She has a 401k, not a swiss bank account. But hey we’re not dealing in truth here are we?
I don’t think we really want to know what goes on in the hip pockets of politicians.
Too many constituents would be upset.
Jack Abramoff, the convicted lobbyist and bad guy gone good now wants to clean up the corruption in D.C.
His days are numbered.
What a slanted and misleading article
$1,001-$15,000 in a 401k retirement fund run by Davis Financial Fund. As the fund discloses, it is invested in the Julius Baer Group Ltd. and the State Bank of India GDR Ltd., as well as other financial, insurance, bank institutions
Is not the same thing as a swiss bank account, a cayman island tax shelter or leading a Venture capital company that encourages outsourcing.
Republican attack politics is often stupid, but this is exceptional.
Whatever the political party, wealthy people have a smorgasbord of options available to them as tax shelters.
I do not fault anyone for adhering to the advice of a financial adviser or CPA in regard to their tax liabilities.
If anything should be changed, it should be the tax code.
They’re scum and the difference between them is just a matter of degree.
NO, they are politicians to say otherwise is to give scum a bad name.
Har. Well said.
I would like to congratulate you for getting at least a few of your facts right.
“a cayman island tax shelter or leading a Venture capital company that encourages outsourcing.”
I’m not sure that trying to do business outside this declining nation is the same as a Cayman island tax shelter by any reasonable measure. It seems to be the sort of wise financial move a lot people both in and out of politics including Government Motors and Nancy P. are making.
The claim that the venture capital company that encourages outsourcing part has been noted as being a blatant lie by more than one prominent Democrat as well as many neutral parties. Yes I know you most likely heard it on MSNBC but then that should have been enough to warn you to use some other source to verify it.
I don’t watch MSNBC.
I’m sure the Washington Post will get right on that retraction Romney demanded.
Oh wait…
I agree with you. I had a great good laugh at the audacity of the article and the way it was presented. The key phrase that got me was “..at one time.” and then I went ahead and read the article in the link. When I read across what you also pointed out I just started laughing at the misdirection here at DU.
$1k-$15k in investments. That is quite bad indeed. How much is Mick doing/hiding and NOT for investment purposes? Hell, I invest in overseas when I can. This is not the same as what Mick is doing.
I do expect more from DU even though I come here mostly for the old geezer wise cracks of the members, me included 🙂
Congress passed some really nasty laws related to off shore banking that has resulted in many off shore banks refusing to even set up accounts for Americans or do business with them. Kind off rough on people working outside the US or trying to do business but that is the way it is.
On the other hand some one running a medicad/medicare scam in Florida is supposed to have moved over a billion to Cuba. Cuba isn’t saying. I don’t think they are going to help the investigation at all.
Mitt Romney is an out-of-touch-sourcing jagoff.
Obummer is a skinny grinning Milquetoast.
Bog help us all.
If I had a dollar for every Republican hypocrisy….wait i guess Ro-money does. That’s why he needs foreign tax dodges.
Speaking of hypocrisy maybe that’s why the man of the people is skipping his Martha’s Vineyard vacation this summer.
Who’s got the time when there’s Romney flip flops, lies and misdirections to call out? =)
Let me explain. If the DNC, MSMBC, ABC, NBC, or CNN tell you something try to find a neutral third party and check your facts. You are free to vote for Obama all you want but people who have checked their facts have found that Romney did not do a tax dodge. He was merely an international business man which is pretty much what all highly successful business people are.
If this offends you then you might wish to check because this might leave out Obama and Biden (I believe Biden is actually in debt even though he makes over 350,000 a year.) so that should make you happy but then you’ll just have to write Nancy P. off your Christmas card list because she does invest off shore just like Steve Jobs did.
“Offshore” investing is a rather dubious term.
I invest in and collect world coins. Am I an “offshore” investor? Certainly.
Am I evading taxes? Nope.
You can bet when I sell some coins I will be deducting all the allowable expenses associated with the coins.
Our tax code is not fair to the poor and middle class. It is only fair to the wealthy.
Warren Buffet complained that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. There is no mention of him writing her a check to make up the difference.
Warren Buffet and his secretary pay the same rate on investments. His secretary pays income tax at a normal rate and Warren gets hit with a capital gains rate.
He is a fuck1ng dumbass for even saying that he pays a different rate. They both pay the same as I do, for investments.
Yup, yup. Obviously someonewith $15K in their 401K is the same sort of investor as someone with $100M in their IRA.
Nice try – bet you’d swap for the big ‘un.
♫ Gypsys, tramps, and thieves
We’d hear it from the people of the town
They’d call us Gypsys, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down ♫
Cool it, Cher!
Love it!
I lower my head and wince in disgust. Listening to Romney and his brown shirted crowd remind me of Mafia Leaders claiming to do good works in their neighborhoods and that the Jersey Mob is just a social group.
Just the smallest scrap of truth to support the monster of a lie is all that self abusers like do-ill need to jump on the band wagon.
WHO IN THE M-F’ING WORLD thinks they can run for President of the USA and not reveal their tax reporting/business history???? No one but someone so feeling an ENTITLEMENT to a position that they don’t rationally calculate the implications of their positions. Romney’s had 20 years to get his tax/business/financial affairs in order to make a serious run at the Presidency and he hasn’t done it. What kind of “planning” for the office is this? >>>>>NONE!!!
Romney is not running for office to be of service to America, he is running because he thinks he can buy it and in such position continue to feather his nest==making more money for himself and friends in the tax savings he can legislate than he could make in continuing to be a vulture capitalist. Its all right there!! Just look–Look====LOOK!!! Its right in plain sight.
I don’t blame Romney. He is acting according to type: a life of privilege. No military service for him and his sons: leave that for others while he serves “in other ways.” Self serving ways, but ways none the less.
A lifetime of success both personal, familial, business, financial, religious, and even mostly in politcs==why not run for President if nearly 50% of the voters wont even critically look at his history at Bain? Job Creator???? Pull my finger. That was no social society he was capo di tutto capi of.
YES===RUN FOR PRESIDENT. but in a sane society, he would only get some percentage of similarly maladapted people of the same wealth isolation—3% of the vote? BUT IN AMERICA he get the support of low information values voters like do-ill, or at least like those the tool do-ill is trying to keep voting against their own self interest.
How much income disparity needs to exist before anyone honest will conclude: “This aint good?” I reached it 20 years ago as funding for schools was taking out of general funding and handed over to gambling revenue. WHAT KIND OF SOCIETY DOES THAT?
So many sins, not enough soap. Oooh–there’s Romney. I wonder what he’s going to say? Lets cut food stamps because too many people are using them? Just what will he say to attract new voters to him now? A total fantacist living in his burlap underwear.xxx–well, without considering the support he has for his “views.”
Deowll–on a personal level==how will a Romney Presidency benefit you? Anyone? Or is it all about what he will do to “others?”
Just curious.
So what you’re saying is he’s corrupt? Whaaaaaat?! I’m shocked. THEY ALL ARE bobbo. We do not live in a sane society. Haven’t you been paying attention?
Well, no. Yes–he’s corrupt, so are all the others. The point was why do they have so much support from the voters?
corruption is a basic human desire–to have/get/keep as much as you can possibly get==more than you need==more than you can use or spend yourself. Its greed. Its avarice. Its normal and natural.
but why do other people like do-ill and douche-anal and so many other “conservative” voters vote for them?
Your considered on point opinion is:
Giving people the semblance of a choice, and the perception of participation keeps them busy so they don’t have time to think about picking up the torches and pitchforks.
I wish I knew the answer to your question bobbo because I’ve been asking the same thing. Although, I don’t see it just limited to conservative voters.
So what if he’s trying to avoid taxation? I’M trying to avoid taxation. Hell, everyone is trying to avoid it! Who the hell is happy about paying taxes? Geez what an idiot this woman is.
Well there’s legally avoiding taxation and illegally avoiding taxation.
Let’s hope you understand the difference, I really don’t want you to be wearing orange pajamas in the near future.
She should have used that money for a face lift.
You leave Debbie alone!
I always had a thing for Jewish women. DWS…call me.
She should have used it for a butt lift, oh wait, that’s what you said.
So what? The DNC chair isn’t running for President of the United States.
The question should be: Does Obama also shelter his income in offshore accounts.
No, Obama has released his tax returns.
NEXT!
Actually, after a second look at the article, I agree it’s bogus. That doesn’t change my distaste for politicians on both sides.
Good for you.
Realistically, it is impossible for an investor to know what foreign investments they hold if they are invested in a managed fund or mutual fund.
Investing in stock, for example. How many corporations are multinational? Shell Oil is owned by the Dutch. U.S. Steel is owned by France. And so on.
The article, however, tries to insinuate there is some kind of equivalence with what Romney is doing offshore.
Corporations do it all the time. They adopt whatever legal strategy yields the best results.
I have a 401K and a lot of it happens to be in Freddie and Fannie. God knows what those lunatics have invested the money in in or where.
Stable revenue fund my ass. Nothing like getting tricked by the finanical community.
Thank you, McCullough
A Swiss bank account could just be someone doing business in Switzerland, and you need a place to deposit the checks.
Just think, if you were a legitimate business person doing business in Nigeria, how could you ever send an email?
Romney just wanted his money to enjoy the cool Swiss air and perhaps have some relaxing ice skating at Davos.
Some ancient civilisation, I forget which, taxed a man only upon the total weight of his wives.
Where is the evidence that she had a Swiss bank account. All it mentions is that one of her funds invested in a company that did business in Switzerland. The part about having a 401K run by a company that also invests somewhere else also is meaningless.
The part about investing in an overseas fund is relevant. This is not a blind trust. So she deliberately chose to invest her money in foreign areas and not in America.
So she deliberately chose to invest her money in foreign areas and not in America.
How does one invest in America? What corporations are not multinational? McDonalds? Wal-Mart? Coca-Cola? Kentucky Fried Chicken?
Why do corporations invest in foreign areas?
The only way to invest in America is to buy stock in small arms manufacturers. One thing I’ve noticed is that a rather large percentage of small arms sold in the USA are designed and produced domestically.
We make a LOT of guns.
Romney should just counter with asking for full disclosure on Tony Rezko and how Obama bought his house. And how about that job that Michelle got for $300,000 that went unfilled after she left?
Surely Republicans would never stoop so low as to provide a cush job for political cronies. Never happens.
Now it’s the politician getting the job from the cronies as a payoff.
>WHO IN THE M-F’ING WORLD thinks they can run for President of the USA and not reveal their tax reporting/business history????
Who thinks they can run for president without revealing their medical records?
Well John McCain, Paul Tsongas. Both sought to hide their medical records because they had cancer.
Tsongas ended up dying later of it.
It was just a matter of time before Romney’s agents found a Schultz mutual fund component in the offshore accounts.
Naturally, this is presented to the sheeple as a closed argument because $1000 and $100,000,000 is just a bunch zeros.
Next up: Romney saved the auto industry like Obama because he bought a few cars.
I thought Romney only drove Mercedes-Benz
I have seen the enemy and he is Democrat and Republican…
I have seen the enemy and he is a lawyer politician!
Know what? When you take the mortgage interest deduction, it means you’re trying to avoid taxation. Personal exemption? Ditto. Deductions for charitable contributions? Yup. Tax credits for purchase of “green” vehicles? You betcha.
The tax code is screwed up, that is true. And thanks to the efforts of both major parties, the tax code is filled with all kinds of loopholes and legal “cheats” that strictly benefit the very wealthy.
I don’t approve of our rigged tax code. But I don’t see it as an issue when someone stays within the law and uses that rigged code to their advantage. The issue is the tax code itself, not the person taking advantage of what the tax code provides.
Mostly agree. You can chastise the tax code only if you file a 1040 ez and take “no deductions” otherwise you are using the rules to avoid tax costs and that’s within the rules.
I’m certainly not the “wealthy” but the loopholes have helped me to save extra expenses. So, it can help anyone who chooses to do their homework.
Lastly, Debbie is a total f’ing fool, how do these people have jobs? I wonder what it’s like to have no idea how dumb you really are?
From the article: “. . . Financial disclosure forms from 2010 show that Wasserman Schultz invested between $1,001-$15,000 in a 401k retirement fund run by Davis Financial Fund, according to the Weekly Standard; the fund has investments in the Julius Baer Group Ltd., a Swiss investment firm, and the State Bank of India GDR Ltd., as well as other financial, insurance, bank institutions. “. We are discussing about max 15,000 dollars !
That’s not quite the same thing as having a swiss bank account.
You have to give credit to the rightwing screed The Weekly Standard for digging up this non-dirt and making it sound like Wasserman-Schultz was hiding swiss money.
What a dumbass!! Hope bout the communist brutha come clean ??
So Romney is a bad guy because he broke no tax laws. Obama is a good guy because his Treasury Secretary cheated on his taxes.
Were parties here divided merely by a greediness for office,…to take a part with either would be unworthy of a reasonable or moral man.
— Thomas Jefferson
orchidcup cited:
Here’s the full quote:
“Were parties here divided merely by a greediness for office, as in England, to take a part in either would be unworthy of a reasonable or moral man. But where principle of difference is as substantial and as strongly pronounced as between the republicans and the Monocrats of our country I hold it as honorable to take a firm and decided part, and as immoral to pursue a middle line.”
Aside from a couple of arguably minor policy differences, the two parties fighting for power now are virtually the same.
Is she running for an office?
She is questioning why an American businessman and particularly a candidate for president needs to invest vast sums of money in offshore accounts in typical notorious tax havens.
I see her point and I will raise another one.
If Romoney’s activity is legal and allowed by the tax code, there is nothing to see here.
I wonder how many wealthy Democrats, running for office or not, are doing the same thing?
If the people would use their critical thinking abilities, they would see that neither candidate is worthy of the office of President.
However, one of them will be voted into the office, and the only thing the rest of us can do is grumble about it.
IMHO, the position of the leader requires a bit more than just being within the law. Nobody is questioning the legality of what he’s done or doing, just his moral character and his ability to lead this country. Personally, I see nothing wrong with a desire to maximize personal wealth, but I do have an issue with him trying to pretend to understand average Joe or Jane.
If Romoney complies with the tax code, how would that be considered immoral?
IMHO, I do not see how Romoney could understand the average Joe or Jane.
First of all, there is no average Joe or Jane. There may be a middle class Joe or Jane, or a poor Joe or Jane, but not an average Joe or Jane.
Secondly, what President in the past 100 years was elected from the ranks of the middle class? By definition, the middle class is not wealthy. The wealthy class provides the field of candidates to choose from.
I will be willing to admit that wealthy people are completely out of touch with the struggles of the poor and middle class.
The poor and middle class do not have the means to lobby congress for tax laws that are favorable to them. The politicians pander to the poor and middle class to con them out of a vote, and then they proceed to do whatever they please until the next election cycle.
It is a dog and pony show.
It is still slightly better than a dictatorship.
If we had ballots that included the option NONE OF THE ABOVE perhaps that would help even out the playing field.
It’s amoral, not immoral. Big difference.
Obama is not wealthy, at least he wasn’t when he was elected.
Jimmy Carter was not particularly wealthy. He was a bankrupt peanut farmer before falling into the Georgia Governor’s mansion. Neither was Harry Truman. In fact, it was Truman’s financial state that prompted Congress to authorize a presidential pension. The 1958 Former Presidents Act.
>>orchidcup says:
>> If Romoney complies with the tax code, how would that be considered immoral?
He thinks all the big money should go to the “job creators.”
But he’s a walking illustration of why the rich are not job creators.
They hide their money outside of America.
She is a Congresswoman, so yes, she is running again to retain her Florida Congressional Seat, as the House of Representatives have to run every two years.
I just love the Republicans vs. the Democrats arguments.
Keep playing their game. It’s what they want.
So what Romney’s income was and from where 5 years ago is important to evaluating him for President, but not Obama’s medical records? What is the President hiding?
Maybe Obama is hiding the fact he has diabetes or something.
Why do medical records matter?
I feel that Romney’s source of income was based on on how many American jobs were lost is pretty important.
A picture of Obama’s basketball injury is not very important.
I can’t blame the average wealthy or poor for taking advantage of tax loopholes but I think it kinda makes a difference if one is running for president.. We expect the average person to have average ethics. Although, the higher up the political pyramid the politician reaches, the more the ethics of the politician should matter.
And, more importantly is how much and why.
Wasserman’s 401K had a few thousand dollars in foreign investment. My IRA has some foreign investments as well.
This is NOT AT ALL THE SAME as Romney parking only-God-knows-how-many-hundred-millions overseas to avoid taxes.
Yeah, a few thousand dollars vs Romney’s hundreds of millions.
Clearly, it’s exactly the same thing.
To a republican if it was $1.00 it would be significant.
Look at the GOP equating Clinton’s penis being sucked by an intern as at the same level as Bush invading a country and killing 1,000,000 civilians while doing it.
>> orchidcup
>> If Romoney’s activity is legal and allowed by the tax code, there is nothing to see here.
We could change the law so that the top 1%, like Romney, aren’t rewarded for betting against American workers.