To continue getting breaking news and the full stories from The Boston Globe, subscribe today.

The Boston Globe

Politics

Mitt Romney’s offshore accounts draw more fire

Obama camp presses for tax records’ release

President Obama’s reelection campaign continued to blast Mitt Romney on Sunday for offshore financial holdings and renewed its call for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to release additional tax returns.

The pressure followed a week of news reports about a Bermuda company Romney owned and transferred to a trust in the name of his wife, Ann, on the day before he became Massachusetts’ governor in 2003.

Comments

Why anyone would consider voting for Mitt Romney, who consistently showcases his total lack of core values that any grown man should have, especially one running to be president of the United States, is beyond reason. What kind of country do you want to live in if Romney is President?

This comment has been removed.

The law certainly allows Mr. Romney to do such maneuvers with his money. However it is also fair to figure out what impact it has on his fellow citizens. By shipping cash or jobs overseas this puts the kibosh on worker's ability to negotiate for decent wages or proper working conditions. We know Mr. Romney has called Union people stooges so this falls right in line with his intentions. By using distant cash to hire near slave labor that produces slightly cheaper goods it depresses wages here at home. Even more significantly by pushing people to almost subsistance(paycheck to paycheck) levels there is no reserve for a rainy day. So when some financial Titan goes off the rails by gambling instead of real investing everyday people have no bulwark to tread water for any period of time. Recessions follow. We also know natural calamities add to this when people are not financially prepared to deal with it. However when it is done by one of our fellow citizens they surely should not be put in charge of the country. They are treating working people like commodities. Romney even calls it Human Capital on his website. This concept is dead wrong. Capital is what is produced by human work to create wealth. It should be obvious the labor involved is not a thing but living breathing countryman that makes capital, not vice versa. It stands alone in its importance as one of the 3 cornerstones of Capitalism: Capital, Labor, and Land. Mr. Romney is essentially proposing human workers are just another piece of machinery instead of a fellow human being who wants to use his skills to benefit himself as well as his employer. In this regard Mr. Romney has called Corporations people. However corporations have no human body parts but in reality are a product of human labor. This important difference is either lost or not part of Mr. Romney's ken. In effect Mr. Romney thinks washing machines in effect are human. His compassion seems to follow certain lines: His family, his church, some of his fellow Republicans, and of course a robotic love for corporations. He is certainly not the friend of everyday working people who produces th goods and services that add to the true wealth of this country. Sorry Mr. Romney Corporations don't.

Pointing out Romney transferred an offshore asset to Ann Romney is a "vile and ugly attack?" What does that make Ann's accusation that Obama wants to "kill Romney?"

He should release it after Obama releases his academic records and medical records.

A photo of a trio of people of questionable age to vote and the Boston Glob runs it as a major news event involving a highly partisan left-listing outfit at a beach. This just had to be a Glen Johnson choice of photos. Now we have this non-Glob staffer Callum Borchers joining the Glob's Obamahack mob of propagandists. Oh goodie!!!

OK, so 3 people did not like my last post. Try this: There is only one reason to move money off-shore, either earned or stolen and that is to avoid taxes. The US taxes its citizens on global income due when the money is earned, not spent. By moving cash to blind trusts, incognito, with no names, simply codes or fictitious labels, the money has no known "owner." It is not easily traceable, which is why the US has pressured the Swiss for names on accounts involving American citizens and since the Swiss do a huge business in the US with USB etc, they are complying. The Bermuda off-shore accounts function in much the same manner...avoiding taxes. That is why companies set up there in the first place, and why a blind trust can function with(e.g.) dividends paid in anothers' name, e.g. Ann. All in all, the posters who have squawked about Kerry and his little white boat now have a fleet of ocean liners to hide, all belonging to Romney. Good luck with that. The sorry facts? This is just another disconnect for Romney in a long line of flip-flops pandering to the public for votes. You can look it up. He is to the presidential race what Palin was the the vice-presidential race....a really poor excuse for a candidate to lead this country.

O.K. Go wave flags and scream at Obama how he needed to borrow money to buy a house 'ritzy' only 4 years ago, but is now a multimillionaire? Also, who can explain how the Congressional and Senator members have become multimillionaires since their move to Washington? One thing we know for sure is that Governor Mitt Romney doesn't need to go to Washington to get rich!!!!!!!!!!

Obama needs to explain how he became a multimillionaire after 4 short-years in Washington! Here is a man with two children in an exclusive private school, he was previously a 'community organizer(?),' with a part-time teaching job, and it was necessary for him to borrow money to buy his last house. GO FIGURE.

So, are you actually suggesting that Sankaty is worth less than $1000.00?! I doubt that, so...nicely said - he broke the law.

Romney is not required to disclose any more info. Ask Obama about why he won't divulge requested info on Fast and Furious. scandal. Obama is claiming executive privilege related to his role in the death of a US border agent. Obama is a hypocrite when it comes to openness.

Romney accused Obama of doing stuff in the first place, he is an idiot.