Posted on 04/14/2015 11:50:42 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Cruz rails against crony capitalismand counts a CEO under investigation for unpaid billions in taxes as a mega-donor. Awwwwwkward. Hedge fund CEO Robert Mercer is all in for the conservative Texas Republican Ted Cruz, and the billionaire will have unusually substantial influence in how his contributions get spent.
But the billionaire also has some baggagelike, the avoiding billions in taxes kind of baggage.
His alleged failure to pay those taxes led to substantial congressional scrutiny in 2014and its not clear the investigation is over.
This, and some of Mercers side projects, could present interesting challenges for Cruzs campaign. Especially since Cruz has been a vocal opponent of those who give favors to Wall Street and engage in crony capitalism.
On the one hand, Mercers support is fantastic for Cruz for all the obvious reasons (having a billionaire in your corner is nice). On the other hand, Mercers hedge fundRenaissance Technologiesrecently faced an unflattering congressional investigation, the results of which indicated that it used complex and unorthodox financial structures to dramatically lower its tax burden.This drew scorching bipartisan criticism from investigators on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
Renaissance profited from this tax treatment by insisting on the fiction that it didnt really own the stocks it tradedthat the banks that Renaissance dealt with, did, said Sen. John McCain during a hearing on the issue, per Mother Jones. But, the fact is that Renaissance did all the trading, maintained full control over the account and reaped all of the profits.
In his opening statement for that hearing, then-subcommittee chair Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said that Mercers business avoided paying more than $6 billion in taxes between 2000 and 2013.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
Now why would this “problem” IF true, bother someone who wants to get rid of the IRS?
Would a flat tax involve companies? I am unclear.
RE: Warren Buffet has yet to pay the taxes the IRS claims he owes. You know, Warrens fair share.
He says he does not LEGALLY owe what the IRS claims he owes, that’s why he’s fighting it in court.
Of course, he doesn’t mind lecturing everyone about THEIR taxes and why the high income among them should pay MORE than their “fair” share.
Any relation to Judy Woodruff?
We know how inbred the Leftist Media is...
Cruz is squeaky clean, so the only recourse is to attack everyone he knows.
RE: someone who wants to get rid of the IRS?
OK, let’s say we abolish the IRS, who collects the taxes then?
Quoting Commie Sen. Carl Levin as if his rabidly-partisan statements constituted factual evidence?
Really?
Is Betsy Woodruff a credulous fool? The question answers itself.
The existing tax system is what it is and lots of people make a living analyzing the kind of transaction structures that result in the lowest tax burden on any kind of income producing activity.
Lousy system?
Sure. Cruz is in the forefront of advocates that we should fix it.
But wrong for the guy who is already subject to an abusive wealth transfer government financial regime to do what he can to minimize the burden? Not in any real world.
I would prefer to meet Hillary’s Xenodonors.
the current Democrack President is hanging around with a thug who owes FOUR MILLION in unpaid federal income tax and these weasels have et to not that....my oh my
Flatten the tax code and there won’t be any loopholes, dodgers or political influence to sell (the last part being why they’ll never flatten the tax code.)
It really burns them up that they have to beg from America’s enemies for their cash.
There is no vice in arranging one’s affairs such that he pays as little in taxes as legally possible.
I think Jefferson said that.
And, I’ll add the corollary - there is no virtue in paying more taxes than you’re legally obligated to.
When Cruz says abolish the IRS, he intends to replace it with a streamlined agency that would be responsible for checking tax filing compliance and reporting revenues paid in. It certainly won’t be the 100,00 plus employee tyrannical agency we have now.
Hillary’s Tax dodging Sugar Daddy donors are on a island in Indonesia..
Is it my imagination or does the Hedge Fund guy look a lot like John Laroquette?
Dodging TAXES = Patriotic Activities..
The absolute LAST thing the federal givernment NEEDS is MORE MONEY..
Charlie Rangel?
Did he push his fellow Jews into the gas chambers and ovens and steal their possessions for the Schutzstaffel?
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