Tax havens: Mitt Romney and the state of Delaware

Hour 1

A new Vanity Fair article investigates Mitt Romney’s use of offshore and foreign tax havens and is drawing more attention to the Republican presidential candidate’s finances. In the August issue, journalist NICHOLAS SHAXSON tracks Romney’s accounts in Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Switzerland.  President Obama’s reelection campaign has seized on this asking on its website “Has Mitt Romney avoided U.S. taxes by investing millions in tax havens?”  But offshore shelters aren’t the only problem. A recent New York Times piece by business reporter LESLIE WAYNE argues that Delaware is in many ways a bigger corporate tax haven then the more notorious Cayman Islands. Delaware’s corporate and tax friendly laws Wayne writes, have led to a state where corporations outnumber people. Today, journalists Leslie Wayne and Nicholas Shaxson talk to Marty about foreign and domestic tax havens and the loopholes that allow them to thrive.

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[audio: 071112_100630.mp3]