Senator Claire McCaskill's (D- Missouri) husband has an investment in a reinsurance company that moved to Bermuda for tax avoidance. After claiming in 2004 she was a partner with her wealthy husband, she now claims little or no involvement in his business. This could be cleared up if she would release her tax records, but she has refused to for five years. Claire McCaskill was involved in an "Acorn" scandal last election. The Missouri Republican Party has the story:
Shifting blame to her husband and reversing her previous statements, Senator Claire McCaskill’s office responded yesterday allegations that she is avoiding U.S. taxes through her ownership of a Bermuda-based company. Through a spokesman, McCaskill’s office claimed in the Kansas City Star: “Like Warren Buffet, Claire's husband has an investment in a reinsurance company in a foreign country that has never been a tax benefit to him nor will there ever be a tax benefit for this investment.”
McCaskill clearly distanced herself from the Bermuda-based business, placing blame squarely on her husband, the wealthy developer of low-income housing Joe Shepard. This separation stands in stark contrast to a 2004 McCaskill statement regarding her family’s finances, in which she claimed, “My husband and I are a team… We are married, and we share everything -- assets, children and a house... Some have implied that the assets of my family don't belong to me. That notion is pretty archaic.” (Post-Dispatch, July 18, 2004)
In addition, McCaskill continues to maintain that her Bermuda-based company does not exist to provide tax benefits. Of course, the only way to discern if she is telling the truth is for her to release her family’s tax returns. She has stubbornly refused to do so over the past five years.
They call it public office for a reason. Hiding things isn't a good policy in such a position. It's about time we had an administration that cracked down on these bastards.
ReplyDelete