Another Theory

Posted on July 17, 2012 at 7:00 pm by JM Ashby

via Yglesias, one possible explanation for why Romney is refusing to make more financial disclosures is his possible participation in an amnesty program for disclosing Swiss bank accounts.

Wealthy U.S. taxpayers, concerned about an Internal Revenue Service crackdown on the use of secret overseas bank accounts as tax havens, are rushing to meet a Thursday deadline to disclose those accounts or face possible criminal prosecution. The concern was triggered this summer when Switzerland’s largest bank, caught up in an international tax evasion dispute, said it would disclose the names of more than 4,000 of its U.S. account holders.

The decision shattered a long-held belief that Swiss banks would guard the identities of its American customers as carefully as they did their money, and it raised concern that other international tax havens might be next. Under an amnesty program, the IRS is allowing taxpayers to avoid prosecution for having failed to report their overseas accounts. As a result, tax attorneys across the nation have been besieged by wealthy clients who are lining up to apply even though they will still face big financial penalties.

I remember this happening shortly after President Obama took office, but I didn’t connect the dots.

Again — we won’t know for sure unless Romney comes clean, but this seems like as good of a guess as any. His returns could include a number of things. It may not be limited to just one outstanding moral liberty. Given his reluctance to discuss it at all, it could be a treasure trove of unsavory information.

Print Friendly
This entry was posted in Ethics and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
  • MrDHalen

    Yea, something smells bad! Real bad!! In fact, it STINKS!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael-Norris/1597765442 Michael Norris

    It is all that–but there is something else. Did you notice this week that the evangelicals went completely berserk when they heard that Condi Rice might be the VP pick? They were completely apoplectic because Condi is–gasp!–pro-choice. So imagine how the evangelicals will trip there shit latch when they find out that Willard paid the Mormon Church more than he paid the federal government for the past twenty years. That will not play well in wingnutville.

    • BenAu

      But will they hear about it? The Left won’t be able to trumpet about it because that would be “religious discrimination” and the the Right mouthpieces will pretend it doesn’t exist or, better yet, make it a positive by saying he “gave x% of his income away – much more than Obama”.

      It would only make a difference if Bryan Fischer or one of his ilk decides that Romney can’t win and it’s time to make their own political hay out of it. Mind you, considering their pitiful need for validation and self-aggrandisement, that’s feasible if the polls get bad enough.

  • burbank_burt

    Bob Cesca wrote:
    “Given his reluctance to discuss it at all, it could be a treasure trove of unsavory information.”
    ^^ My money is on that… big-time!

    • JMAshby

      Correction: that was me.

      • burbank_burt

        Sorry about that Ashby!
        Clearly I didn’t read the byline and made an assumption.
        My bad.

  • Lazarus Durden

    Even if this isn’t the case. Even if it’s not as bad as all that, but simply a case of Romney being typical of the corporate culture look at what the denial has cost him politically.

    I have no idea how bad it is. I’m assuming it’s probably something bad enough the Romney team thinks denial is the way to go, but the problem is it won’t let up, and it’ll keep building.

    You have to wonder if the GOP establishment is really regretting backing Romney now.

    I’m glad it’s shaping up this way. Lawrence O’Donnell said that he wanted Rick Santorum to get the nomination so we could finally have the culture war big fight once and for all. That’s the same reason I wanted Romney to get the nomination. I wanted to have the fight over wealth inequality. Romney is the poster child for everything that’s fucked up in our system. Bob’s article today perfectly summed up how our culture is slated heavily in favor of the rich.

    We will never break that cycle unless we get it out in the open and show the American people in bold terms how it has hurt our country. Romney is the face of the problem.