It turns out Harry Reid was right - - Mitt Romney paid zero taxes for 15 years…thanks to a 1996 loophole which let him “rent” non-profit status from the Mormon Church.
Bloomberg News reports:
“The (strategy) allows individuals to defer capital gains taxes on any profit from the sale of the assets, and receive a small upfront charitable deduction and a stream of yearly cash payments. Like an individual retirement account, the trust allows money to grow tax deferred, while like an annuity it also pays Romney a steady income. After the funder’s death, the trust’s remaining assets go to a designated charity.In this instance, Romney used the tax-exempt status of a charity — the Mormon Church, according to a 2007 filing — to defer taxes for more than 15 years. At the same time he is benefitting, the trust will probably leave the church with less than what current law requires.
In 1997, Congress cracked down on the popular tax shelter that allowed rich people to take advantage of the exempt status of charities without actually giving away much money. Individuals who had already set up these vehicles were allowed to keep them. That included Mitt Romney, then the chief executive officer of Bain Capital, who had just established such an arrangement in June 1996.”-
#liars #crooks #mitt romney
wait till this hits the late night talk shows
Here’s the link to the story: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-29/romney-avoids-taxes-via-loophole-cutting-mormon-donations.html
(via truth-has-a-liberal-bias)
