Mitt Romney is a piece of work, that's for sure.
I don't like having to "guess" how Romney amassed $100 Million in his IRA, just like I don't like having to "guess" what the details are in Romney's Tax Policy Plan, or what the details are in Romney's Foreign Policy plan, or what the details are in any other policy Romney claims to have. But because Romney will only discuss those things in private, quiet rooms, "We the People" have no choice but to "guess" what the details in Romney's policies would be and "guess" how Romney acquired $100 Million Dollars in his IRA.
Mitt Romney's 2010 Tax Returns are missing Form 990T and why that is important.
Let's be clear, there is no way in hell, under any legal, accounting scenario that Romney's IRA could have accumulated $100 Million Dollars without Romney's IRA engaging in Commercial activity.
The question then becomes, how much money did Romney's IRA pay in Unrelated Business Income Tax on the Millions of dollars in income Mitt's IRA earned from the commercial activity his IRA was obviously engaged in?
The only way to know the answer to that question, is to review the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT), Form 990T, Romney's IRA would have been legally compelled to file with the IRS.
When an individual's IRA has to pay the UBIT, the Fiduciary, or Trustee, of the individual's IRA pays the tax and files Form 990T with the IRS. Like an individual's K-1, w-2 etc., the Trustee of the IRA sends Form 990T to the individual IRA holder, in this case Romney, and the individual attaches Form 990T to the Individual's Form 1040 and all accompanying Schedules.
Since Romney's IRA did not file a Form 990T, we are left to "guess" Romney's IRA paid zero taxes on the Millions of dollars of income his IRA earned as it engaged in Commercial activity.
We know Romney's IRA has Bain funds in it. Bain private equity Funds are listed in the assets of Romney's IRA and those Bain Funds are located in the Cayman Islands.
If Romney's IRA held those funds directly, instead of through a "Blocker Corporation", a 990-T would have been filed. If it [Romney's IRA] has Unrelated Business Income, then, by U.S. law it has to pay the Unrelated Business Income Tax and a 990-T would need to have been filed.
The questions then become, how and why did Romney's IRA avoid paying U.S. Unrelated Business Income Tax on the income his IRA earned while it was engaged in Commercial activity?
The answer to "how" is simple, Romney's IRA funds are held by a Foreign Country's "Blocker Corporation" as a Tax Shelter in order to shield the Millions of dollars in income earned in Mitt's IRA from Taxation in America.
The answer to "why" is unclear to me.
Oh sure, no one really likes or enjoys writing checks to the IRS because it is painful. But, We the People know that, among other things, Taxes pay America's Debt on Two Wars and Tax money is used to provide our Troops, who are fighting the enemy overseas, with state-of-the-art: body-armor, tanks, weapons, boots, food, intel, communications, air power, naval power, ground power etc., so we pay our Taxes with a bitter-sweet emotion.
In short, We the People know that people who use Foreign Tax Shelters to avoid paying U.S. Taxes are directly harming our Troops and forcing America to go further in Debt to China.
One would think a candidate for President of the United States would discourage people from stashing their income in Foreign Tax Shelters as a candidate for President would understand and realize the importance of that Revenue - Revenue which provides America's Troops with stellar equipment, pays America's Debt on Two Wars and keeps America strong and as exceptional as possible.
Romney wants to be President of the United States - is it possible no one ever told Romney "what" Taxes pay for?
Sadly, the Bush/Cheney Administration failed to realize "what" Taxes pay for, so George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Bush/Cheney Military Advisers and Bush/Cheney Economic Advisers all decided it was in America's best National Security interest to borrow money from China to pay for our two wars and keep our Troops equipped.
Hey, didn't Romney hire the Bush/Cheney Military Advisers and Economic Advisers? Yeah, he did! Romney did hire Bush/Cheney's failed Military Advisers and failed Economic Advisers.
Go figure.
7:18 PM PT: I appreciate all the very valuable, insightful comments.
The most important thing to note in the comments: Romney refuses to give details so "We the People" can only "guess" what scheme Romney used to accumulate $100 Million Dollars in his IRA --
Thus, the bottom line with Romney is always the same, we are left "guessing" because Romney refuses to give details on every single issue, including but not limited to, how Mitt amassed $100 Million Dollars in an IRA.
Just like all things Romney, "We the People" are left "guessing" what the details are in Romney's Tax Policy Plan, and what the details are in Romney's Foreign Policy plan, or what the details are in any other policy Romney claims to have.
Because Romney will only discuss those things in private, quiet rooms, "We the People" have no choice but to "guess" what the details in Romney's Policies would be and "guess" how Romney acquired $100 Million Dollars in his IRA.