don't pay any tax to the cayman government. islands don't report the income that's made to the u.s. government. >> reporter: nothing in romney's financial disclosure forms, required for all presidential candidates, revealed his connections to the caymans. but listed under his investments are at least 12 pratt funds, with potentially as much as $30 million, that we were able to track back to the island. for example, the fund listed in tiny print as bain capital fund viii, officially registered in the cayman's by romney's former company, bain capital. in fact, official documents show bain capital has set up some 138 secretive offshore funds in the caymans that are nothing more than a post office box. there are rows and rows of post office boxes here at the central postal station in grand cayman, for all of the companies who come from overseas to take advantage of the tax haven here. this is the one used by bain. this is their post office box, 908. other than the box number, everything else about the bain accounts is kept secret f

nothing in romney's financial disclosure statements reveal his connection to the caymans.ut we tracked at least 12 of the funds he lists, set up by his former company, bain capital, and potentially involving as much as $30 million, tracked all to an address in the caymans. a post office box at the central post office. this is the bain capital address right here. post office box 908. tax experts say such offshore accounts allow u.s. taxpayers to tax loopholes, and keeps secret which companies the funds invest in, as we learned from bain's registered agents in the caymans opinion you can't talk about that? >> unfortunately not. >> reporter: nothing at all? >> nothing at all. >> reporter: the romney campaign says the candidate would pay the same taxes if the accounts were not in the caymans. and romney says he follows all tax laws. >> and if there's an opportunity to save taxes, we, like anybody else in this country, will follow that opportunity. >> reporter: but a larger issue involves how bain and others use such offshore accounts to help foreign investors to avoid u.s. tax

but he wouldn't answer as to why he put his money in the caymans in the first place.nd without access to romney's tax returns, it's impossible to know all these details. he may release his latest tax return in april. and it may be a window into how the superrich are able to arrange their affairs. >> ryan ross, thank you. >>> still ahead on "world news," the security scare at a major american airport today. a 65-year-old woman boarding a plane with a gun. >>> a reality check in the most widely-prescribed drug to fight the flu. does it really work? >>> and ending illness. you'll see our friend and abc news reporter on tape, learning something that may save his life. and might save yours. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirem

islands and bank capital sat out many of its funds and the cayman islands and there are indications that there. trying to do things. avoid or delay paying taxes that's the only reason one would go there it's because the you don't physically go there for the sun right you just this is all wire transfers and things sam what are the political consequences of this story you know i think they're going to be pretty big not so much in the republican primary i think that i think you know romney is is more or less i think going to be the nominee but i think things like his taxes i think it's time and i think this is going to play big in the general election and i think that's also going to be a function of a couple of things it's going to be a function of just how far president obama's campaign brings this up and raises it i think the tax issue obviously is going to be brought up again in april he's going to release two thousand and eleven and everybody's going to say why not two thousand and ten why not two thousand and nine like every other presidential candidate you've got you've got gove

cayman islands is known as a tax haven.e romney catch says he was not using the location to get any tax breaks. but some experts disagree saying he probably saved a lot but it is not illegal to invest and he will not release the tax runs and says he will in april but who knows. the holdings could be a political liability and judge napolitano is here and he hosts "freedom watch." i have a number of bank account, and they are not in the cayman islands. >>judge napolitano: your bank accounts are not suggested to be open for public scrutiny and you at this point are not seeking the highest office in the land. mitt romney's problem is political. it is not legal. those bank accounts are absolutely lawful and there are many supreme court opinions which say you do not need to work your finances to give the most money to the treasury you can use all the rules of the i.r.s. to minimize your tax exposure. however, the concept of the cayman islands, the idea of the day man islands is, it must be for rich people avoiding paying taxes bu

romney has invested part of his millions in the cayman islands. this money appears to be various retirement investments that aren't controlled by mr. romney himself. while the romney campaign admits he does, in fact, have millions of dollars stashed in the cayman islands, the campaign says, quote, aids say he never used the location as a tax haven. see they are parked in the cayman islands not to avoid paying taxes or anything, the thing you need to know about mitt romney's millions is they like to have a nice view. they like warm weather, the millions text him constantly about their respiratory problems, please, mitt, can we go swim with the sting rays, really, is it the view? come on. well, we are talking about front page headlines though, there was also this front page in florida's "tampa bay times" today. "miami factory: one side of bain." hundreds lost their jobs, mitt romney's company made $242 million. florida's the next stop in the republican presidential race. how's that for a welcome to town mitt romney greeting. the whole interacting wi

the cayman islands are also close to florida, if i have my geography right. but when we talk about the economic populist message, it is mind boggling that the guy with the $500,000 revolving tiffany's account who goes on vacations to the greek islands is somehow the representative of the great purltarian. >> i feel like that could happen at any point. >> we're holding out. >> i think it's very hard for a lot of middle americans to relate to romney. when he comes out and says, i have a 15% effective tax rate, that doesn't resonate with most people. it will be interesting to see how he overcomes that. >> this is somebody who says, i didn't make a lot of speaking fees when he made almost $400,000. >> and i think the income from those speaking fees alone might have taken him to the 1%, which is ironic. >> certainly in a lot of parts of the country. >> we'll be talking more about taxes, money, and romney's millions after the the break. the tax man cometh. we'll dig into that report that mitt romney parked money in the cayman islands and what it means for the gop p

news that companies like bain set up their accounts here in the caymans and other tax havens primarily to attract foreign investors who want to invest in u.s. companies without having to pay us taxes that's great for bain and for the foreign investors but not so great for the u.s. treasury and american taxpayers american taxpayers who vote so romney uses our roads and bridges uses our police officers he uses our education system is protected by our military but he doesn't think he needs to pay for all that stuff least pay his fair share of it in taxes joining me now is sam seeder host of the majority report co-host of the ring of fire radio and rebecca wilkins senior counsel on federal tax policy at the institute of taxation and economic policy was citizens for tax justice rebecca sam glad to have you both with us saying let me start out rebecca with you as a tack a tax expert can you explain exactly what romney's doing down in the caymans and i understand some of this has to do from reading the wall street journal piece today with his ira and that there's a secondary tax i want to cal

if you are vetting this guy, isn't it a red flag, cayman islands offshore? >> and as a general rule, people do not put money in the cayman islands as an effort toward paying the maximum tax. that is the general assumption and a valid one. if something is going on in the cayman islands, people deliberately do it. why not give the jobs to americans who work in banks, the tellers who would handle it, rather than outsource them? i think the thing about romney you have to say -- this is not a campaign fault. this is a fault with the candidate. there is no question that the people in the campaign went to him -- because you do, you would check every candidate to see if there is anything else. this will be a credential. what about your taxes? he has avoided this. he sounds marble mouthed, unsure, absolutely unconvincing, and the question about the man's genuineness is absolutely compounded by his mishandling of this issue. >> such an easy one, charles. this seems to me. >> it seems that, one, he should have had an answer six years ago. and equally so, on the bain ca

nothing in romney's financial disclosure statements reveals his connection to the caymans.acked at least 12 of the funds he lists set up by his former company, bain capital, and potentially involving as much as $30 million, tracked them all to an address in the caymans. a post office box at the central post office. this is the bain capital address, right here. post office box 908. tax experts say such offshore accounts allow u.s. taxpayers access to a number of tax loopholes and keep secret which companies the funds invest in. as we learned from bain's registered agents in the caymans. >> you can't talk about -- >> no, unfortunately not. >> nothing at all? >> nothing at all. >> reporter: the romney campaign says the candidate would pay the same taxes if the accounts were not in the caymans. and romney says he follows all tax laws. >> if there's an opportunity to save taxes, we like anybody else in this country will follow that opportunity. >> reporter: but a larger issue involves how bain and others use such offshore accounts to help foreign investors avoid u.s. taxes. >> t

have you been to the cayman islands by the way. >> i have been to the cayman islands. >> you have a lots always fun to look at other people's domiciles for their money. >> bill: why would anyone have $8 millioned in the cayman islands. >> that number by the way is a very conservative estimate. >> bill: might have more. >> absolutely. numbers rise as high as triple digits. in terms. >> why? why not invest your money in the america not cayman's. hurricane and the money is gone. >> i can't understand why the rest of the medias is talking about it. you focused on the issue. why wouldn't he put his money there? the answer is he gets to defer faxes on the money that is in a trust in the cayman islands earning interest as he is invistad over the years. >> so when he -- defer means that he doesn't have to pay taxes until he withdraws that money? >> correct. right. >> bill: takes it back to the u.s.a. or starts to spend money off the account, right? >> yes. >> bill: kind of like an ira then? or kayman auburn hills? >> there you go. cira. >> bill: not doing anything nefarious. >> nothing nefariou

>> didn't they also do the cayman islands story? >> yeah. >> they'll be breaking two tough stories against each candidate. there is some -- that may have helped the sense of balance. they're hitting both within a couple days of each other. >> she gave an interview to "esquire" 2010 not long ago where she spilled the beans. is there anything new in this interview? >> that's what i'm wondering too. >>> tomorrow on "morning joe" -- >> yeah? >> stephen colbert will be here. >> south carolina native. >> that's an old picture. >> seriously, you went to college with stephen colbert, and i think you were in this picture before we whited it out. >> all right. >> tie die t-shirt. >>> that'll be fun, and in a few minutes, we'll bring in david gregory. chuck todd and joe klein. >>> plus an exclusive look at politico's top stories of the morning, but first, let's go to bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> good morning, mika. i'm jealous, charleston's a beautiful place any time of year. much of the state has a chance of rain showers. does

as many as 20 offshore investments, not just the cayman islands, hong kong, ireland.e that as the romney campaign says, this does not necessarily because, because he has the investments, does mean he doesn't pay u.s. taxes. there are all sorts of tax benefits to investing offshore, ranging from limiting the deductions you have to make to paying medicare taxes, to deferring state taxes that does accrue to the romney's because of the investments and we won't know the full extent of that until we see the tax returns. >> their investments are handled in a blind trust. why would that matter? >> at some point several years ago, the romney's did put their investments in blind trust. they don't know what's bought and sold. we don't know which of the these investments are still being held by the romney's because they could have been sold by the blind trust without it showing up on his financial disclosure form. i think the even bigger issue beyond the offshore investments is that 15% tax rate that romney, himself, admitted to. that does show how he has a wealthy individual has

. >> bill: let's look at the cayman situation, mitt romney says he hasn't done anything wrong at all. he has a bunch of investments that are bundled. in those investments some of them wound up in the caymans, but he pays a tax rate in the united states. he is not a tax dodger. do you believe mr. romney did anything wrong in his investment portfolio? >> he says he has paid all taxes that are required by the law and that there would knob tax difference if those funds were in the u.s. nevertheless, the arrangement to put money into the caymans is a unique and rare situation, most americans don't have their money in offshore accounts. and those accounts are set up primarily to offer tax advantages. there is no doubt about that. whether he takes advantage of that, i don't know. but the critics say that these funds that bain capital set up and there are about 138 of them that bain capital set up, he is in about 12 of them, but those funds also are there primarily to attract foreign investors who want the benefits of investing in the u.s. without having to pay the u.s. taxes. and the u.s. tr

so investments in the cayman islands? everybody knows what the cayman islands is about.es fun of people that are unemployed. he thinks it's funny to say that he's been unemployed or that he has a pink slip. i think he is completely insensitive and to me, as soon as people understand that, and i do believe more and more are getting to understand that every day, we're going to watch the president soar. >> congresswoman, not only his own personal, but let's look at his tax plan which really gives to the rich and hurts the poor. his plan, this is willard mitt romney's tax plan. $146,000 average tax cut for millionaires. 60% tax increase for households with income below $20,000. so his plan is absolutely for the top 1% as those that confronted him today in south carolina was raising to him. >> when we are going to elect a president, we want to elect somebody that is going to fight for the middle class. that is going to fight for working families. how could mitt romney do that when he has no clue how the middle class lives. if he did understand that, he certainly wouldn't make

the cayman islands. >> i like the cayman islands things because i think i picked my president and he'slet me go to jacques. >> wait a minute. >> in barack obama's book, i know people are going to like what i'm going to do, but i'm going to do it anyway, he admits he used cocaine. do you remember anyone grilling him about cocaine use, who was your dealer works did you get it from, where did you get it from. in this environment, attacking every republican on every wart from 15, 20 years ago, why not ask him about his relationship with bill ayers and his drug use s that fair? >> on the one hand you don't want to talk about somebody's marriages years ago but you want to explore -- >> no, i want the media to be fair. >> i president of the united states, a, is not running against the media, number one. he's running against whoever the republicans will eventually nominate. >> why didn't ann curry and him about his coke use. >> why not when the debate took place this week when they had a debate on martin luther king's birthday, an day a country examines its values and where it is, why didn't a

a lot of questions about not just bain capital, but now carried interest questions, came cayman island questions. >> this is actually a crucial moment. i can't remember a debate in which all year they've all been very important, but this one could determine the out come of south carolina and south carolina could be make our break. >> and if you're john king and there are questions to ask, i've got really hard ones for mitt romney. and rick santorum -- >> rick santorum can just fly on the santorum express. >> and of course, ron paul is back. we've got some great ingredients. >> if funniest part about today, first of all, the ad blitz, but then there's the sign for rick santorum, mitt romney, newt gingrich. i saw three of those, but when the ron paul ad came by, it was like a big truck up on hot wheels, ron paul revolution. energy and passion. >> you go around talking to the political commentators and analysts over here, everybody will sort of you know, south caroli carolina, it's going to be over here. like this is what politics -- which is what excites people about politics. who? what?

another investment between $5 million and $25 million also domiciled in the caymans. bain capital, get this, has set up some 138 secretive offshore funds in the caymans. now i'm sure all of this is legal, but the question becomes offshore. we're dealing with all kinds of questions here. shouldn't the american people have the right to know all of this? >> well, right. and that's why all of the events of the last few days are really, i think, ratcheting up the pressure on romney to do this sooner than later. you have chris christie going off message and reinforcing it. the story about his father. you got how uncomfortable he was in the debate. you got him saying i pay the 15% rate. now you have this story. we're in the middle of january. he's waiting three months until mid-april. i have a hard time not seeing how this is going to reach ch s critical mass before then. >> we've not confirmed all of it, but it's clearly coming out. it may be legal, but is it fair? >> it probably is legal and it's certainly not fair. look. here's the thing. what mitt romney is doing is the