The Real Problem With Romney's Offshore Investments | Mother Jones

The Real Problem With Romney's Offshore Investments | Mother Jones

"The Tax Justice Network estimates that the global superrich have stashed between $21 to $32 trillion in offshore tax havens, a figure almost twice as large the GDP of the United States. The group estimates that if the income on these investments were taxed at 30 percent, it would generate as much as $280 billion in revenue annually. That's more than double what the world's developed countries collectively spend on foreign aid. The lost tax revenue would be enough to pull many developing countries out of debilitating debt and greatly improve the quality of life of their citizens.

"The system of offshore tax havens is one of the greatest threats to the global economy: undermining markets, helping shift gargantuan quantities of wealth upwards from poor to rich, then wrapping up much of it in secrecy," says John Christensen, who served for 11 years as the economic adviser for the British tax haven of Jersey and now works for the Tax Justice Network in London. Before becoming a whistleblower, Christensen helped clients in South Africa evade anti-apartheid sanctions and to dodge taxes, among other things.

"The offshore system of secrecy jurisdictions is much bigger and many times badder than almost anyone realizes. To have a US president who is a serial user and abuser of offshore secrecy, and even a defender of secrecy jurisdictions, would pose frightening threats to the US and the global economy," he adds."