Was Mitt given amnesty?

[ProSense]

Don't bury the issues, expose Mitt

Two Daily Kos posts by the same diarist explore the possibility.

CBS Reports a Daily Kos Hypothesis: Romney Avoided Prison via '09 Tax-Cheat Amnesty
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/25/1136121/-CBS-Reports-a-Daily-Kos-Hypothesis-Romney-s-Avoided-Prison-via-Tax-Cheat-Amnesty

Dark Secret in Romney's Missing Tax Files: "Amnesty" from Prison for Top-1% Tax Cheats?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/23/1135424/-Dark-Secret-in-Romney-s-Missing-Tax-Files-Amnesty-from-Prison-for-Top-1-Tax-Cheats

While I doubt jail was in play, tax evasion is one of the issues related to Mitt's tax returns that should be kept on the radar.

"The GOP candidate failed to include...Swiss bank account on...personal financial disclosure forms"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021205969

Paul Ryan called Cayman Islands 'the place where you hide your money'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021406199

A TPM piece from July and a Think Progress piece from August:

Experts’ Best Guesses On Romney’s Swiss Bank Account

Brian Beutler

Renewed interest in Mitt Romney’s now-closed Swiss bank account has created a parlor game among experts and political junkies who would love to know why on Earth Romney had a Swiss bank account in the first place, and whether he paid taxes to the U.S. government on the money and interest in a timely manner.

Romney’s unwillingness to disclose more information about his finances has fueled speculation that Romney used the account to hide money from the IRS, and may have even had to avail himself of an amnesty program that allowed U.S. owners of certain Swiss bank accounts to come clean to the government without facing legal recriminations. (The Romney camp is now specifically denying that his UBS account was connected to the IRS investigation and the amnesty program.)

But even if Romney paid his taxes as required, the question becomes, Why would a person with national political ambitions open himself to the political risks associated with having a Swiss bank account in the first place? Plus there’s another hitch: Why run the risk for an account that was relatively small? It was open on behalf of Ann Romney’s blind trust in 2003, held about $3 million, and generated a mere $1,700 of interest in 2010. Big bucks for ordinary folks, but not for Romney.

High risk/low reward isn’t exactly Mitt’s style personally or professionally. So what gives? Tax experts I’ve been talking to have some interesting — and plausible — theories about how Romney found himself in this mess. Emphasis on “theories.”

Theory #1: Romney was actually helping some of Bain’s foreign investors avoid U.S. taxes and scrutiny — not himself.

<...>

Theory #2: Romney and his financial advisers lost track of the Swiss account.

- more -

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/07/experts_best_guesses_on_romneys_swiss_bank_account_1.php

Seven Tax Return Questions Mitt Romney Left Unanswered Today

By Pat Garofalo

<...>

Leaving aside that Romney expects everyone to simply take his word for it that this is true, there are still many questions that can’t be answered without seeing Romney’s tax returns. Here are seven:

1) What kind of taxes? Does that 13 percent cover income taxes, capital gains taxes, or some combination? By Romney’s own admission, nearly all of his income comes from investments (so the low capital gains tax rate helps him drive his overall rate far below that of many middle-class families).

2) What sort of deductions did Romney employ? <...>

3) How did Romney’s IRA grow so large? <...>

4) What sort of offshore tax strategies does Romney use? While Romney was on the executive committee of Marriott, the company employed complex strategies known as “Son of Boss” to dodge taxes, prompting consequences with the IRS. Did Romney use a similar strategy for his own taxes?

5) Was Romney’s Swiss bank account disclosed on all tax returns for all years? <...>

6) Did Romney participate in the IRS’s settlement initiative for undeclared offshore financial accounts (the amnesty)? In 2009, the IRS gave American citizens a window to declare their Swiss bank accounts and avoid prosecution for tax dodging, before it launched a crackdown on foreign accounts. As Slate’s Matt Yglesias wrote, “Romney might well have thought in 2007 and 2008 that there was nothing to fear about a non-disclosed offshore account he’d set up years earlier precisely because it wasn’t disclosed. But then came the settlement and the rush of non-disclosers to apply for the amnesty.”

7) Why did Romney invest in Houston rental real estate that was explicitly marketed as a tax shelter? <...>

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/08/16/700611/romney-seve-tax-return-questions/

Tax professionals have doubts about Romney's tax returns
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002978581

[font color="black" size="12" face="arial"]What is Mitt hiding?[/font]

[99th_Monkey]

1. Mitt's felonious ass should not even be allowed to vote

much less hold public office, much less run for POTUS.


Note: I actually personally oppose not allowing felons to vote,
once they have "paid their debt to society".

[tularetom]

2. These are all valid questions but they will gain no momentum

unless somebody floods the airwaves with ads raising these questions. And plants the seed of doubt in the mind of the public.

The Obama campaign won't touch this with a 10 foot pole although I can't understand why.

Maybe one or two of the Democratic PAC's could start a campaign of publicly asking pointed questions about where why and how Romney hides his dough.

[grasswire]

3. Mitt's trustee asked for questions from the public regarding this.

He asked that questions regarding the release of Mitt's tax materials be sent to this email address. [e-mail]

My question to him:

Have Willard and/or Ann Romney ever asked for or been granted amnesty from the IRS?

No answer yet.

[tarheelsunc]

4. This NEEDS to hit the mainstream, EVERYONE needs to know

If done right, it puts him in the worst position: he either releases his taxes, showing an extremely low rate and possible cheating, or he doesn't release them and people begin to wonder why wouldn't he release them if they are legitimate.

[Angry Dragon]

5. Laundered drug money

[porphyrian]

6. We deserve to know! n/t

[porphyrian]

9. I still want to know. n/t

[bushisanidiot]

7. Lying and cheating is mitts most dominant character trait

.

[GardeningGal]

8. I'd like to know the answer to that - maybe in the town hall meeting?

Of course Candy won't allow anything like that to come up but I'd sure like to know the answer. And I'm sure a lot of other voters would like to know as well.